Moving On
by Xavras
Summary: AU, post Hogwarts. A chance encounter by two people in an unlikely place...a pub...and what follows... Starts 2 1/2 years after the Battle of Hogwarts... *** this story DOES contain some Weasley bashing (Ginny more than Ron) ***
1. Chapter 1

The blonde woman was walking down the sidewalk, avoiding eye contact with the passersby, her expression showing her irritation with life in general. She thought she needed a drink. She noticed a pub up ahead and made her way towards the doors. As she pushed open the door she quickly considered if she had any muggle money as she walked into the pub as she had left her frustrations with the magical world behind for the afternoon, As she looked into her hand bag she noted she had her debit card from Gringotts, and hoped that the establishment took what the muggles called plastic. She noted on the door a decal that indicated they accepted major credit cards and made her way to the bar. Once she obtained the ordered glass of wine she turned and looked around the pub. It seemed like any other pub she had visited before, small groups around tables sipping beer or wine, several noisy people playing darts in the corner, nothing remarkable at all. Then her gaze went back to a booth in a darkened corner, and she realized that there was a magical aura in the area preventing muggles from noticing whomever was there. Her interest was piqued. Why would a magical person be sitting in the corner of a muggle pub? She had a brief thought to ignore the person in the corner and she started to turn back to the bar. She stopped herself and pushed away the thought to not venture into the corner and she became determined to investigate who was sitting in the corner of the pub.

She cautiously made her way towards the corner booth. The dim lighting made it difficult to see who was sitting there. She could make out the shadow of a thin man whose face was partially hidden by a wide-brimmed hat. He had a mug of some beer or ale in front of him and she noted he was following her as she approached. She sat down across from him at the small table as she noted the glare from his green eyes that seemed to shine despite the darkness.

"I don't recall asking you to join me here," growled the man.

"You're quite right, you did not, Potter," she replied icily. "If you're waiting for someone, I'll leave, but as it stands, I was curious to discover a wizard sitting in this muggle pub, and I wanted to see who was here and why."

There was a pause, before Harry replied. "Well, Greengrass, I could ask the same of you, and as I was happily enjoying some quality alone time until you decided to walk through the basic wards I placed, I could ask you the same thing. So, care to tell me why you are here and why you decided to grace me with your presence when you must have been able to detect I did not want to be disturbed."

Daphne Greengrass tried to look into Harry Potter's emerald eyes, but the lighting was too dark for her to discern any emotion from them whatsoever. "For being the Gryffindor Golden Boy who slew the might Dark Lord and saved our society, I suspect you're expecting me to drop to my knees and thank you for your wonderful gift to our world. But then, if that's really what you wanted you would have accepted one of the many interview offers from the Daily Prophet last year after the war ended, not to mention then it would also prove Malfoy right."

Harry raised an eyebrow at this comment, and Daphne thought she noted a bemused look on Harry's face in the shadows. "And just what would Draco Malfoy be right about?" asked Harry.

"That you are just a pathetic excuse for an attention seeking prat who has no real skill other than he supposedly survived a killing curse as an infant," answered the blonde, formerly known as the Ice Queen of Slytherin.

Harry carefully put his mug back on the table. Slowly he replied, "So, is that just what Malfoy said? Or was that commonly accepted by your house mates as the truth?"

Daphne realized that she may have over stepped her welcome at this point, then added calmly, "I was merely telling you what Draco would say. Personally, I would like to say 'thank you' for all that you did for our world. Maybe you don't believe me when I say this, but our whole house did not blindly follow the blonde ponce as you called him. Slytherin is the house of cunning, it was not supposed to be full of sheep mindlessly following an egotistical madman who seemed to amass so much power he intimidated everyone." She paused for a minute and continued before Harry could reply. "Well, intimidated everyone but you and Dumbledore."

"Well, Daphne, it is Daphne, isn't it?" asked Harry shyly. "We spent six years together at school and barely spoke to each other, and now we find ourselves sitting in a muggle pub, and you thank me for something I had no choice in participating in? Well, then to you Daphne Greengrass, I say that you are welcome. Most of the magical world may be grateful that Riddle is truly gone forever and not coming back, but I have had to put up with more than anyone's share of grief and hassle over the past 9 years that it seems it is just not worth it."

"You seem awfully bitter, Potter," commented Daphne.

Harry looked at her eyes closely, noticing for the first time just how blue they were. Almost violet, and he considered how so many of the boys back at Hogwarts would drool over the thought of staring into those very eyes. "Well, maybe I am a little bitter, or maybe I'm just feeling a little sorry for myself today, but that's my problem. I came here to spend some quality time, alone, with only a pint, and then you walk in. So, I have no need to apologize to you for my mood if it is less than pleasant and perhaps a little self serving."

Daphne laughed at the young man sitting across from her.

Harry began to get annoyed with the company. "And what is so funny now, Greengrass?" His voice took on a harder edge as he emphasized her last name, after briefly trying to be friendly by calling her by her first name just a moment before.

"I am not laughing at you, Potter," sighed Daphne. "I just find it ironic that the first conversation I ever have with the Boy Who Lived, the Vanquisher of Voldemort, he is wanting to do nothing more than cry over a beer in a muggle pub. And before you get mad at me, I am not in any way implying that you don't have your reasons to be irritable. I just figured that you had your life all sorted out. You've killed the most dangerous wizard in generations, you have the perfect little girl friend in the Weaslette, and you have all of the fame anyone could ask for. So what could be upsetting you? The little lady off for a Quidditch match with the Harpies and you can't see her for a few days?"

"Are you always this much fun to be around?" complained Harry. "Not that it's any of your business, but the Weaslette, as you so delicately described Ginevra Molly Weasley, youngest chaser for the Hollyhead Harpies in their history, is no longer my girlfriend."

Daphne blushed slightly and then stopped herself from making any further rash comments. After taking a deep breath she spoke again to Harry. "Well, perhaps if I can get my foot out of my mouth we can start this conversation again. You're right, it is not my place to pry or criticize. I just figured that you of all people would have their life all settled with everything you could ever ask for."

Harry scoffed at that notion. "Where were you during the first six years of Hogwarts? Nothing ever went right for me it seemed."

Daphne scoffed in reply, "Nothing? You're the one who survived multiple attacks form Voldemort if the rumours are to be believed. That is something going right."

There was an awkward silence which Daphne interrupted. "Are all of those stories about you true? The troll? The basilisk? The dementors?"

Harry stared back at her silently for a minute. "As I do not know what exactly you heard, I cannot tell you what was merely rumours and what was the truth. But I doubt you would want to be bored by the details of my mundane life. And besides, all of this sulking in a corner and not being left alone has left me hungry. So, I think I am just going to head out of here."

Harry started to get up and leave. He was startled by a gentle hand grasping his wrist. He turned to look at Daphne, as she spoke, "Actually, I'd love to hear what really happened to you and around you while we were in school. Heck, I'd even buy you dinner if you would be willing to tell me the story."

Harry pulled his arm away from her hand. "I don't think I really am in the mood for discussing this in some muggle restaurant, and I really have no desire to be seen in any magical establishment with anyone. I really am sick of all of the press and attention. So, maybe I'll just head on my way."

Daphne tried one more time, "How about take out? We could go back to my flat. No prying eyes, no listening ears. Well, none besides mine."

"Why Miss Greengrass, if I didn't know better I might think that the Ice Queen is trying to take advantage of me and my emotional state," Harry said with a grin. He sat himself down at the end of the table and looked deeply into her eyes. He thought how easily he could let himself get lost in those eyes. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "We were barely even acquaintances for six years, never spoke to each other, and we run into each other in a muggle pub. I think I'll probably end up regretting ever running into you tonight, but, and no offence mind you, I didn't have anything else on my schedule for tonight, so why not? Pizza and beer? Fish and chips? Chinese?"

"Have you ever had any good fish and chips for take out?" asked Daphne with a grin. "Chinese might be safest. We could share a bottle of wine, or grab some beer if you would prefer?"

Harry gave a wry smile, "Hey, it's on you, so we can share your wine. Where to?"

The two young people made their exit from the pub. An hour later Harry found himself sitting in a simple flat in muggle London eating Chinese food with the Ice Princess of Slytherin and sipping wine, then he began to laugh.

"What is so funny, Harry" asked Daphne.

Harry raised an eyebrow as he was still not used to her using his first name.

"Well, if we are comfortable enough to be sharing take out in my flat, I suppose I can be polite enough to use your first name," she added in response to his look.

"I was just thinking what my former housemates would think if they knew I was here with you, the Ice Queen, a Slytherin snake, sitting in your apartment eating Chinese," Harry mused. "I suppose Ron would warn me that you must be trying to poison me to get revenge for killing the Dark Lord and causing the Death Eaters to experience their defeat."

"Like I said earlier, we were not all followers of He Who Must Not Be Named," Daphne sighed. "Speaking of Ron, what happened with you two? I thought you two were always together? Or was it you and his sister's relationship that split the two of you apart?"

"You are full of questions tonight," commented Harry. "I thought we came here for you to hear of the adventures of Harry Potter, and his amazingly twisted time at Hogwarts. Now you want to pry into my personal life?"

"Sorry, Harry, I was just wondering," answered Daphne with a slight look of concern on her face. "It's just that for all of those years at school, it was always the three of you together in everything. You, the Weasel and the Bookworm."

Harry was irritated by her last comment and he felt the hair on the back of his neck begin to bristle. "They have names, you know, even though most everyone from your house refused to use them." Harry did not hide his disgust with the apparent disrespect implied in her comment.

Daphne realized how her words had hurt Harry. She stiffened with his harsh tone and then she sat back in the large cushioned chair and she apologized with a sigh. "Really Harry, I truly meant no harm. The Gryffindor trio of you, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. What happened to you all after the war?" She watched Harry as he slowly let his tension release with a long slow breath. Daphne understood that she must have touched a nerve by bringing up the trio, or their demise.

Harry looked over at the stunning blonde witch sitting across from him and he saw her expression of concern. He silently accepted her apology as he quietly added, "That is perhaps a story for another evening, and may be easier told after telling you the true stories of my first six years at Hogwarts."

Daphne simply nodded in response. After another awkward silence, she spoke to Harry again. "I am sorry; it just seems really strange, sitting here in my flat, with you, the Boy-Who-Lived, having dinner. It is not how I thought my day would end up, and now I fear I'm starting to sound like one your many fan girls you had back in school."

Harry was surprised. "Fan girls? I had fan girls?"

Daphne smirked in disbelief. "Surely you can't be serious. You really had no idea you had your own fan club at Hogwarts?"

Harry blushed slightly, "Well after our fourth year, I though most people outside of Gryffindor hated me. Then when I lead the DA during fifth year, I wasn't so sure; some of the students came because they wanted to hear of my adventures, some came because they heard I could cast a patronus charm. I was surprised so many were interested, despite how awful the DADA was that year."

Daphne curled her legs underneath her on the chair she was sitting on. "Enough distractions already, so tell me what really happened with you at school." Daphne took another sip from her glass of wine.

Harry sighed and then he began with telling her about the experience with the troll that he and Ron fought to save Hermione. Then he told of their finding the Philosopher's Stone and his fight with Quirrell and Voldemort. He then went on to describe his adventures from second year, the flying car – which she had heard about, Hermione solving the clues that led him to find the Chamber of Secrets and confronting Tom Riddle and the basilisk. She laughed when she heard about Guilderoy Lockhart and his obliviating himself with Ron's broken wand. Daphne asked to look at the scar on Harry's arm from the basilisk fang. Harry then continued with the stories from third year, discovering that Sirius Black was his godfather, that he was innocent of betraying his parents and how they tried to capture Peter Pettigrew who was hiding as Ron's rat. He told her about his patronus chasing away the dementors to save his godfather.

Daphne interrupted his story telling at this time. "How many dementors were there? Someone said there were over a hundred when first heard the story."

Harry stood up and stretched and walked around the room while he answered her. "Honestly, I really wasn't interested in counting, the dementors were getting ready to kiss Sirius and I cast my patronus. It could have been a hundred. There were over a hundred guarding the school that year."

Daphne noted how dashing he appeared, standing there with his hair grown longer, hanging down to his shoulders, wearing his dragon hide boots, a dark green t-shirt and dark pants. He had removed his dragon hide cloak when he entered the flat. She shook her head to stop her mind from racing to thoughts she knew she shouldn't be having at this time. Mentally she cursed herself for starting to react like one of those accursed fan girls. She hoped that Harry didn't notice the slight flushing in her cheeks.

Harry then sat down as he told of his experiences fourth year.

"You really didn't enter your own name into the Goblet of Fire, then?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course not, but obviously no one in Hufflepuff or Slytherin believed me. I think Cedric eventually did believe me, though," Harry answered flatly. "Who would want to face a dragon? Or fight of mermen in the Black Lake, or…" his voice trailed off as he remembered the third task.

Daphne noted his hesitancy, and she quietly asked, "Would you tell me what happened in the maze? No one really spoke about it, other than You-Know-Who cam back and supposedly killed Cedric, although that toad claimed you must have killed him."

Harry fought back the tears as he remembered that night. Wiping his eyes he began to answer her. "Well, you may remember that there was the maze set up on the Quidditch pitch. There were various obstacles, creatures, we had to get past. Cedric and I arrived at the center of the pitch together, having helped each other get past one of the creatures. We grabbed the cup together, to finish in a tie, but it was a port key. Our DADA professor was not Mad Eye Moody that year, but a known Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr., who had escaped from Azkaban. He set up the whole tournament to end with me winning the cup. We were transported to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. Peter Pettigrew was waiting to perform a ritual to bring Voldemort back into a new body, and they needed my blood for the ritual. Pettigrew killed Cedric as we arrived. I was stunned and chained to a gravestone. They performed the ritual…." Harry paused as his voice cracked. He wondered why he was telling all of this to Greengrass, a former classmate whom he had never really spoken to before today, and a Slytherin. Harry held his head in his hands as he considered everything that was happening. He had been having a miserable week, went to drown his sorrows over a beer in a muggle pub and he encounters her. He was feeling confused, but he was oddly comforted in sharing all of this with someone, with her. He looked up when he felt her hand his shoulder. He looked up into her dark blue eyes and he was startled by the compassion and beauty he saw at once. He turned to look away.

Daphne had never felt so much compassion for another person in all of her life. She had wondered how she ended up inviting a boy, no a young man, over to her flat. And of all the people, it was Harry freaking Potter. And she was hearing his first hand account of all of his previous struggles while at Hogwarts. She could tell he was not embellishing any of his tales, if anything he was down playing what he had done. She could tell he wasn't telling her these stories to boast, but that it seemed almost cathartic for him to share all of this with someone, with her. She was amazed with everything he had to deal with and he had only gotten to the end of their fourth year in school, they were both still fourteen when these events were occurring. Finally she broke herself from her internal pondering of Harry's stories, and she noted the awkward silence in the room.

She reached forward for the bottle of wine, "Hey lets fill up our glasses before you continue," she spoke softly as she removed her hand from his shoulder.

"Sure," answered Harry as he reached for his glass. After taking another sip of the blush wine, he coughed once as he began again. "Well, the ritual began, part of which was adding some of my blood, Wormtail, the name for Pettigrew, he cut my arm." Harry showed the thin scar where his forearm had been sliced. "Right, and then the ritual brought him back. And then he released me from where I was chained. He had called his loyal Death Eaters to return, including Lucious Malfoy, and Crabbe and Goyle's fathers. Then he, Riddle, attacked me with the cruciatus curse, and then he allowed me my wand to duel him. Our wands locked as he tried to cast the avada kedavra curse at me, again. Some really strange stuff happened. I was able to break the contact with his wand and then I grabbed Cedric and summoned the port key, and I was brought back to Hogwarts holding on to Cedric's body."

"So," commented Daphne with a sigh and another large sip of wine, "that's how your fourth year ended, then?"

Harry scoffed again. "Hardly, Barty Crouch, Jr. took me from there, still pretending to be Moody. He knew something went wrong as I was still alive, so he brought me to his office and tried to kill me there. Some of the professors rescued me, and then Fudge, ever the incompetent idiot had Barty junior kissed by dementors before the DMLE could even question him. More convenient for him as then he was able to deny everything that Dumbledore and I had to say about Voldemort's return."

"Until the end of fifth year, when you fought him at the ministry in front of that whole crowd, including Fudge," Daphne continued for him.

Harry acknowledged her comments and then he went on to explain his being attacked by the dementors over the summer before fifth year, being brought up on charges by the ministry for under aged magic use and then the while horror of fifth year with Umbridge and her blood quill and the detentions. Daphne had heard of the DA, and she had hoped that she could have been involved as she realized that the students who were attending the classes with Harry were actually learning skills which most of the Slytherins all missed out on due to their refusal to work with Harry or anyone from Gryffindor.

Harry recounted the trip to the ministry to try and rescue his godfather, and explained how it was all a trap to get Harry to get the prophecy for Voldemort. He even explained how the prophecy had indicated one of them had to kill the other. He told of the battles with the Death Eaters, of Sirius being sent through the veil, of Hermione's injury, of Neville's strength in fighting magically. And then he told her of his personal battle with Voldemort.

"You fought him five times in your life by the end of our fifth year in school?" she exclaimed.

"Well, that's if you count when I was just over 1 year old and he killed my parents. It's not like I really did anything to fight him them," Harry added sheepishly.

Daphne just stared at the young man in front of her, amazed by his tales of adventure and near death experiences. "So, sixth year, that seems to have been less eventful, up until Dumbledore died."

Harry laughed at that idea. "Uneventful? Other than Draco trying to kill Dumbledore several times, and then the battle with the Death Eaters that Draco allowed into the school." Harry paused, as he decided not to tell her anything about the horcruxes. "And no, Draco did not kill Dumbledore, Snape did. But Dumbledore knew he was going to do it, he told Snape to do it."

Daphne was shocked at this statement despite all of the other fantastic tales she had heard that night. "Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him? I didn't realize he was that daft!"

"He was dying," said Harry.

"What? Who was dying?" asked as still surprised Daphne.

"Dumbledore, he had been cursed by a dark object," Harry added, and he decided he did not need to give any more information. "I was there, I saw Draco disarm the headmaster, and then he couldn't do it, Draco could not bring himself to kill, at least not Dumbledore. Snape had taken an unbreakable vow to help Draco with his mission to kill Dumbledore. He was dying, and he wanted Snape to be the one to kill him, not Draco."

"But Snape was working for Voldemort!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," added Harry, "Or so everyone was supposed to think. Even Riddle thought he was loyal to him and he had no idea he was a spy for Dumbledore. He did not give any information to the Dark Lord that Dumbledore didn't know was being given to him." Harry worried he had said too much. "Very few people know the truth about that night, or why it happened that way."

Daphne continued to be puzzled. "But why?"

"It's a very long story, and one I really can not tell in full," Harry said simply.

"Then what did you do during what was supposed to be our seventh year? You never showed up at school until the battle. People said you had fled the country, that you were afraid."

"I, or rather we, Hermione and Ron and I, we were busy, getting ready to face Voldemort. Or at least they were helping me get ready so I could face Voldemort. Which I was able to do at the final battle, or as some call it, the Battle of Hogwarts," said Harry and then he turned away from Daphne.

"I remember the battle well, most of the students were involved, well, there were some Slytherins who fought with the Death Eaters, but many of fought with you or worked to protect the younger students." Daphne paused and then she continued slowly. "I was there, in the back of the crowd when he had Hagrid carry your body into the courtyard. He declared that you were dead. Then he attacked Longbottom, and then the snake was killed and you had disappeared. How did you fake your death like that? I always wondered how you fooled him."

Harry did not turn to face her. "I didn't. I died in the forbidden forest that night."

Daphne thought she had heard plenty of fantastic stories already, and now she wondered if she heard him correctly. "Wait, you're dead? But you sure seem plenty alive to me now. This isn't funny Potter."

"I am not dead," said Harry calmly. "I said I died in the forbidden forest. But obviously, I did not stay dead for very long. I was quite alive the entire time that Hagrid carried me from the forest to the school. But I could not let Riddle know that at the time. It still came down to the battle of him against me, but his snake had to be killed before I could fight him."

Daphne had tears in her eyes as she was trying to take this story in. "So, when you went off to the forest, you went there to die and Hermione and Ron knew what you had planned and they knew you would come back? Is that what you are saying?"

"They didn't know anything other than I was going to be killed by Riddle. I wasn't even sure that I could survive the forest or the battle. But I knew that there was no other way." Harry still continued to face out the window of her flat, looking into the glare of a street light below.

"But how was that even possible?" asked Daphne.

"I really can't say any more about what really happened to me or to Voldemort. I died, but then I came back. Then I had the opportunity to defeat him and he died. He cannot come back. Not ever. It was finally over for good that night," said Harry.

Daphne walked up behind him. She went to reach out to him, but he spun away form her, as he sensed her approach. He walked to the other side of the room.

Daphne followed him with her eyes, and she wondered to herself why had she gone up to touch him? Why was she getting herself so emotionally involved? Inwardly she cursed herself, for this was not how the Ice Princess was ever supposed to behave. She thought about her nickname, one she eagerly helped perpetuate during her time at Hogwarts. It kept her safe from boys, both within the house of Slytherin and form without. But now she wondered where had it led to for her, other than to be alone in a time when she felt she needed a friend. She looked at Harry who was still turned away from her and she decided to head back to her chair by the small table. As she sat down she picked up the bottle of wine and then poured herself another glass. She asked Harry if he wanted another glass, too, and was slightly surprised when he agreed and came back to join her. As the two started to drink the wine again, they sat in silence for several minutes.

Finally Harry spoke up. "So, Greengrass, why did you enter that pub earlier today? I never suspected that you would be one to venture into muggle London, much less have an apartment here. I shared with you my history; I think it is only fair to hear about you now." He finished his statement with a slight grin to encourage her to open up.

Once again she tucked her legs underneath her as they slid into conversation again as they tried to move on beyond the awkwardness of just a few minutes ago. Daphne forced a smile as looked at the raven haired young man across from her. "Well, you did not tell me why you were in the pub today, so maybe I will only tell you about my history from before today."

The playfulness in her voice caught Harry's attention, and he looked at her with a smile forming on his face. "Right, then why don't you tell me about growing up in a pure blood family. I never even knew about wizards or magic until just before going to Hogwarts our first year. I learned a little about the magical world by spending time visiting Ron's family, but even I quickly understood that they were not in any way typical or exemplary of magical society."

Daphne gave a slight frown, "I forgot that you were raised by muggles, or at least that is the story I heard."

Harry's countenance fell slightly as he briefly contemplated his own childhood that he could remember. "I have no idea what you heard, but I am sure it pales compared to the truth of what my childhood was like. And before you even ask, no, I will definitely not talk about that."

Daphne was startled by his comments. She had heard that he had been raised by non magical relatives, but she could not understand why his tone was so forceful that he clearly indicated that his family life was a taboo subject. She had to avert her eyes from the harshness that she saw in Harry's face so she swirled the wine in her glass a few times, before taking another sip and then looking back towards Harry while trying to avoid eye contact. She began to tell general stories of what it was like to see magic around the house as a little girl. And she shared how was surprised when she found that there were families who had no knowledge of magic, and who also had no ability to use it. She then shared some stories of things her family had done as she was growing up, travelling to parts of Europe, both magical and mundane, playing with friends who would eventually go to school with her. She avoided discussing politics within the wizarding world and she avoided any clear references as to what her father did to support the family, or why they were able to take such elaborate vacations.

Their conversation continued for some time as more wine was consumed and as they grew more comfortable with each other…

* * *

Harry's head ached and throbbed. He tried to open his eyes but the bright light around him made the throbbing worse. A blurry bright light he noted as well. He tried to roll over, and his head throbbed more, so he returned to lying on his back. He tried to open his eyes slightly. The brightness was still painful and still blurry, but not quite as bad as the moment before. He noted his mouth felt dry, and his stomach was angry with him about something. He tried to open his eyes a little more and he looked towards his feet, which felt strangely cold. All he could see in front of himself was a blur of pink. Nothing was making any sense to him at this point, so he decided to shake his head to help himself clear his thoughts. That was a huge mistake he realized. The throbbing only intensified. But the pink blur was still in front of him. "Bloody hell," he muttered to himself, but the words hurt his dry throat. He remembered he needed his glasses. He started to reach around himself, feeling for them blindly, when it finally dawned on him that he was not in his own bed, but lying on a couch somewhere. "Accio eyeglasses," he whispered hoarsely as he held up his right hand. His glasses arrived in his hand and he carefully slid them on to his face.

The world around him came into focus. He noted that the pink blur was a pink blanket that someone had placed on him. "This is not too awkward," he thought to himself, as he tried to remember what had happened last night. He slowly sat himself up, and his bare feet slid on to the cold wooden floor. His head throbbed again, as he wondered if someone had hit him with a bludger the night before. He focused his eyes and he noted three empty wine bottles and some empty Chinese food containers on the table in front of him. He slowly scanned the room around him, when he remembered he had spent the evening with Daphne Greengrass. He held his head in his hands as he heard soft footsteps enter the room.

"Hey Potter, are you alright over there," asked the statuesque blonde who had just entered the room, wrapped in a silk robe.

"Not so loud, Greengrass," pleaded Harry, still holding his head and not looking up.

He heard a soft chuckle. "So, the Boy Who Lived can't drink wine. What a surprise."

Harry looked up slowly and glared at her. "It may have something to do with the several pints I had consumed before you showed up and convinced me to join you here and spill my guts." Harry paused, and then moaned, "speaking of spilling my guts…"

"Not on my rug, you don't, Potter," snapped Daphne. "Wait right there and hold it in for a moment." She quickly returned with a small potion bottle and handed it to Harry who just glared at the bottle.

"If I wanted to curse you, it would have been pretty easy after you passed out last night," she said quietly, "It's just a hangover remedy potion. Trust me, it will help."

Harry silently took the small bottle and downed the contents. The taste was bitter and sour, quite a horrendous combination, but he soon noticed that the throbbing in his head was easing up and his stomach was starting to settle down. Daphne then offered him a large glass of water.

"Here, drink this now, it will help as well," she said kindly.

Harry drank the proffered water, and then sat back, pushing the pink blanket aside. "Cute touch there, Greengrass," he said indicating the blanket with his eyes.

She laughed at him, "But you looked so cute lying there. I pulled off your boots though, as I thought you would be more comfortable without them."

"Oh, yeah, thanks again for that too," he said. After a minute of silence, he spoke softly. "So this is awkward. I never meant to crash at your place. We barely know each other."

Daphne sat down across from him, "I don't know about that Harry," she said with a smile, "we did talk a lot last night, I do feel like I know you now. I kind of wish I had been brave enough to be your friend back when we were at school."

Harry just looked at Daphne quietly before speaking, "Well, my new friend, it sure would have shaken things up, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin as friends. Even my friends would not have accepted you."

Daphne had a look of being hurt on her face, "The noble Gryffindors wouldn't accept a friend of the Gryffindor Golden Boy?"

"Over half of my house didn't believe me when I said I didn't put my own name into the Goblet of Fire, including my supposed best mate, so why would they accept you as a friend? I am sure they would have accused you of putting me under some sort of spell or curse or potion." Harry sighed. "And to think I chose to become a Gryffindor because they were supposed to be so noble and I wouldn't become a Slytherin because I thought Malfoy was a git. And because Hagrid had told me that your house was full of darkness."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at Harry's comments. "The Sorting Hat chooses what house you will go in to, you don't decide for yourself." She then looked at Harry's expression and put her hand to her mouth. She squeaked and then spoke again. "Wait, are you saying the Sorting Hat wanted to put you in Slytherin?"

Harry gave her a smug look. "I told the hat to not put me in Slytherin after it suggested that I would do well there. The hat debated with me about which house I should go to, and then it finally agreed with placing me in Gryffindor, as I requested."

Daphne just stared at him for another minute, and after Harry decided he felt uncomfortable enough, he finally spoke up again. "Urm, Daphne, is there somewhere I could, freshen up as it were," he said and glanced at his wrist watch. "I really ought to be getting on, and I really don't want to be any more of an imposition than I have been. After all, I only came over to share some Chinese food and a story or two last night."

Daphne felt hurt. Here she had spent the previous evening with the Gryffindor Golden Boy, perhaps the most eligible wizard in all of England if not Europe, heck he even slept over in her flat, and he wanted to leave. Quickly she regained her Ice Queen mentality as she chided herself over her initial reaction. To be honest with herself, she had entered that pub to drown her own sorrows, and she ended up stumbling upon Harry Potter and somehow ended up almost on a date with him. She still wondered why he was there drinking by himself yesterday afternoon. The last she knew he was dating Ginny Weasley, but apparently that had recently ended, so she surmised he was pining over unrequited love or just wanting to be alone and wallow in his heartbreak and sorrow. It's not like the Harry Potter would actually be interested in her, a Slytherin. Then why was she feeling like a giddy school girl all of a sudden?

"Daphne? Are you still in there?" asked Harry, trying to get her attention. When she looked up at him again, Harry continued. "You seemed to have zoned out there for a couple of minutes. Do you have a spare towel I can use or should I just apparate back to my place? Maybe that would be best anyways."

Daphne shook her head. "No, sorry, I'm here. I don't know what came over me there for a moment," she lied as her inner voice was telling her 'you know darn well what was coming over you right then and there.'

"Yes, spare towels, I can get you one straight away," she added.

She quickly returned and handed Harry a bath towel, a hand towel and a washcloth. She then indicated where the bathroom was and when Harry had entered she slid down into her chair with the large cushions and slammed her palm into her own forehead. "You bloody idiot!" she quietly yelled to herself. "Now he must think you're as loony as that Lovegood girl, or worse." She sat in her chair as she contemplated what could have caused her to drop her icy defenses that she had learned to perfect so well while she was in school. Daphne lost herself as she thought about all they had talked about last night, how Harry had so easily opened up and shared about his experiences at school, how she had opened up about her fondest childhood memories, something she had never done with anyone ever before. Daphne spoke to herself quietly, "He may be cute but you better not be falling for him." However, she had not heard Harry's footsteps as he had walked up behind her.

"Is this a new habit of yours?" he asked, causing her to turn bright red in the face. "Talking to yourself like that?"

Daphne could not believe she had allowed herself to get caught saying that out loud. Trying to regain her composure, she changed the subject. "Didn't you say you had somewhere you needed to get going to this morning?"

"Actually, I did not say any such thing," he answered with a grin. "But I really do need to take care of some minor business in Diagon Alley today. It shouldn't take me too long though." Daphne noted that Harry started to shuffle his feet uncomfortably. "But I don't have any idea what you have planned for today, but I would be free to meet up with you for lunch. Either at Diagon Alley or some muggle place nearby there, if you would prefer. Or not," he added as he suddenly felt that maybe he had misunderstood her musings. His own insecurities started to make him wonder how such a beautiful woman as Daphne Greengrass could ever be interested in him.

Daphne silently told herself not to answer too quickly. "Well, I think that I could easily rearrange my schedule. I could me up with say at about half twelve. We could decide then where to grab a bite to eat."

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Harry with a broad smile. "I'll see you then. And thanks for the wonderful company last night. Other than the hangover this morning I had a great time. So I better be off, and I'll see you later today then."

The two stood in front of each other with a sense of awkwardness like giddy school children who notice that they were caught staring at each other on the play ground.

"So, half twelve then, in front of Gringotts," added Harry.

"Half twelve," repeated Daphne.

Without another word, Harry apparated away from Daphne's flat.

**AN: I am not abandoning my other stories, but this plot idea came to my mind and it began to flow. There will be more to come...and more for the Dark Lord Potter as well...**

**AN 2: Thanks to Tha Golden Boy for the criticism - I have tried to fix some of the issues you mentioned - specifically my error in the name of the cruciatus curse...reviews and comments are welcome and appreciated...  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: There will be some Weasley bashing. Well, at least parts that paint the Weasleys in a less than admirable light. If this bothers you, my apologies. Our story continues later the same day, after Harry left Daphne's flat. Comments and reviews are appreciated. Thanks to those who have offered encouragement. This story seems more successful then many of my others, for some reason, so those stories may be on hold for a little while. After all, I do have a life, a wife and a family, and a job. Obviously I do not own Harry Potter or the characters, or I would not need to have a job...I'd be so bloody rich I could do whatever I want and not have to publish stories on , but I could actually publish Harry Potter stories the way I think they should have gone. But then, you already know that as you are reading here on so you know that this is not mine, but being done for fun. I hope you enjoy the story. Enough of my ranting, now on with my writing...**

* * *

Harry was finishing his meeting with Ragnok, the Chief Administrator for Gringott's London Branch.

"Very well Mr. Potter, we shall arrange your accounts as you have requested. We will arrange for the sale of your properties as you have also requested. I am not sure how the market will react to some of your properties being sold, but of course will negotiate to your advantage. The arrangements for providing you with new house elves has gone more slowly then we had hoped, as finding relatives of Dobby who are not bound to families who have connections with the group formerly known as Death Eaters has not been easy. But we do have a lead on a couple of house elves that may be suitable to you needs who may be in need of bonding to a new family soon."

"As always, I am enriched both personally and financially to have you in my service. May your gold flow freely and your enemies be ever at under your feet," said Harry as he concluded his discussion.

Ragnok handed Harry a small red and gold pouch that had the Potter family crest on the side. "Here are the port keys you have requested for Potter Manor and for your new flat in London. Once we have completed the sale of the properties in question, we will then begin the task of searching for properties that would meet your specifications. As always, it has been a pleasure, Mr. Potter." Ragnok concluded with a deep bow with his arms to the side showing his respect for Harry and the honor and esteem by which Harry is held by the Goblin Nation.

Harry returned the bow, and slid the pouch inside his dragon skin robe and departed. He quickly checked the time and saw that it was nearly twelve noon. He muttered to himself as he was frustrated that his business had taken as long as it had this morning at Gringott's. He knew he was scheduled to meet with Daphne shortly, and he was hoping to have a little more time before he was to catch up with her for lunch. He noted the butterfly feeling in his stomach as he thought about lunch with the Ice Princess, and the feeling angered him. "You're not a foolish little school boy any more, Potter," he said to himself, and hoped no one had overheard him as he was walking out on Diagon Alley into the mid day crowds. The feelings he was having since he had dinner and spent the night at Miss Greengrass' flat reminded him of when he had a crush on Cho Chang during fifth year, or when he had first become interested in Ginny Weasley. A shiver went through him as he thought about her name. His girlfriend up until just recently when he had decided he had had enough of her games and manipulations.

Harry strode into the early winter sun in Diagon Alley. The breeze was brisk and he looked down the Alley towards the various shops. He was considering which small store he would choose to enter, when he was startled by the shrieking of his name.

"Harry James Potter!" screamed a red-headed witch with her hair ablaze behind her as she strode through the crowds towards Harry.

Harry thought to himself, "Why did I have to think about her name just now? Just my luck." He knew he could not avoid facing her today and she seemed determined to speak with him, even if that meant creating a scene in the middle of a very public place. Not to be out down in formalities, Harry slowly turned to face her as he put on a stoic face and calmly replied, "What can I do for you, Ginevra Molly Weasley?"

Ginny glared at him for using her full name, oblivious to the fact that she had just used his full name in shouting at him. Her Hollyhead Harpies robes flowing behind her as she quickly walked up to confront him. "Just where the bloody hell have you been the past three days? I have been searching for you, there is no response at the place the Order of the Phoenix used to meet, in fact none of us even remember where it was. Just what are you up to? Do you think you can just take off on me like that?"

Harry returned her glare momentarily, then he allowed a calm demeanor to settle upon his face. "Ginevra," he said softly, knowing she hated being called by her given name instead of Ginny, "I am not your property and I do recall that you broke up with me three days ago, at which point I replied by saying, and I think my exact words were, 'well good, because I was thinking of breaking up with you, so I think this is really all for the best.' We bade each other farewell, and that should be that. Or were there some of your belongings from my former place of residence," Harry continued as he knew that none of the Weasleys or surviving members of the Order of The Phoenix would remember anything about 12 Grimmauld Place as he had asked the goblins to place a new fidelius charm on the old Black home, "then I will be happy to forward them along. I do believe you should have already received your things at the Burrow."

Ginny was furious at this rebuff, and she lifted her hand to slap Harry, but he deftly stepped back quickly and avoiding her quick hand. Harry was glad that they were in a public place as he figured it would make it less likely that she would draw her wand against him, but he was slightly worried that she might just try to hex him, so he took another step back, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"Well, that was all just a simple misunderstanding. Just go back and re-register for your Auror training program, and then we can get back on with our lives together, once you apologize to me." Ginny sneered at him at this point.

"Ginny, there is no way I am returning to the Auror training program. You know that, and Ronald knows that. So give it a bloody rest," Harry snapped and mentally chided himself for allowing his emotions to start to rise.

"But you have to go back to studying to become an Auror," Ginny was now resorting to whining. She forced a pouty expression on to her face, and Harry struggled to openly wince at contortions she made with her face.

"I have to do no such thing," Harry said calmly, already knowing where this conversation was headed – the same place it went the last dozen times they had this conversation after he quit the Auror school.

"I know you're good enough to be an Auror," she smiled sweetly at him, "but it is just what you need to do so you can get a job."

"I do not need a job and I am definitely not going to become an Auror," Harry said simply, reciting the same lines he had to her the last time this conversation occurred.

"But you need a job, and a place to stay," She reached forward to take his hands in hers, but Harry stepped back again, glancing backwards momentarily so as not to trip over anything or anyone.

"I have a place to stay, and I do not need a job, I already told you that," He said, trying to hold back any emotion from his response.

"But Harry, love, you can't live on your trust fund forever," she said smiling again, "It will run out eventually, you know that."

Harry had about enough of his former girlfriend now. He decided that he would pull out all of the stops today, but he paused a moment before answering so as to remain calm as he began to speak. "Ginevra, my trust fund is of no concern of yours, it never has been and it never will be. My welfare is also of no concern of yours, especially after it became clear that you had been using love potions on me back when I was at Hogwarts. You can go back to you life as the famous chaser for the Hollyhead Harpies, the youngest ever, lest any of us forget, and you need to get over your damned crush on the Boy-Who-Lived." harry paused when he thought he saw Daphne walking up behind Ginny. She was still about twenty yards away making her way through the crowd that had gathered and he gave a quick shake of his head to hopefully warn her to stay away for right now.

Ginny noticed his slight head movement and spun on the spot to see who he may have been silently communicating with, as she snapped at him, "That better not be Granger coming to try and rescue you from me."

Harry internally gave a sigh of relief when he noted that Daphne was not visible in the crowd at this moment. "Hermione does not need to rescue me from anyone, least of all you," Harry replied, letting a little of his anger to seep into his words. "Besides, I have no idea where she could even be, as I have not heard from her since she left Ronald last spring."

"Then who are you meeting here?" Ginny demanded as she turned to face Harry once more. "Is it your girlfriend? The one you must have been cheating on me with for the past year?"

"I have no girlfriend, and you know that I never cheated on you," answered Harry with a sigh, and then under his breath he added, "But you know you can't say the same for yourself."

Her eyes burned with rage and Harry mentally berated himself for adding that last statement as she had obviously heard it.

"We're not through, Harry," snapped Ginny.

Harry glanced at his watch, and then looked back at Ginny. "Actually, I believe we are. We are quite through, and please stop harassing me like this, or I shall be forced to call an Auror or make a report to the DMLE. Or perhaps even file a complaint with the Harpies' governing board for behavior that is unbecoming to a representative of their team."

The last statement finally got through to Ginny, as she knew her contract had a public behavior clause. While she knew her skills could buy her some leeway with the coaches, the governing board for the team had a reputation of not showing any leniency against anyone who may besmirch the reputation of their quidditch team. She gave a silent glare at Harry and then spun on her heals and headed down the Alley. Harry was sure she was heading for George's store, but he did notice that she was trying to peer through the crowd that was dispersing, now that their very public argument had come to an end, for whomever Harry had been looking at over her shoulder. Most of the wizards and witches who had gathered were nameless faces who all must have had a thrill in witnessing the public outburst between two famous people in their society, and many of the onlookers anticipated telling their friends and family, who were sure to read about the to do in the next edition of the Daily Prophet, ow they were eyewitnesses to the spectacle.

Harry did not move from the spot he had found himself occupying, backed up against one of the pillars in front of the Gringotts Bank. His eyes followed his ex-girlfriend until he was sure she was out of sight. Then he scanned the remaining crowd and he noticed Daphne slowly making her ways towards him. He was surprised to see her wearing muggle clothing, a pair of tight black jeans with a green and silver jumper that did little to hide her very womanly figure. She did not have a robe to cover her, but the early December day did not require her to bundle up any more as it was quite seasonable. Harry realized he was staring, and he quickly averted her eyes as he noted the smug look that Daphne was wearing.

"Quite the display there, Mr. Harry James Potter," she said with a smirk.

"I was hoping to avoid that," he said with a slight frown, "I wish you didn't have to see that."

"Oh, but it was oh so entertaining," she commented as her smile grew.

Harry thought how nice her smile looked. He started to smile himself, and this was not lost on the young blonde in front of him.

"So, why the head nod?" she asked simply, "Did you not want me to see the full-fledged lover's spat?"

Harry noted the mirth in her voice so he held back responding in anger. He gathered his emotions in check as he answered, "One, we are not and were not lovers. Two, it was not that I did not want you to witness the 'spat' but that she has been accusing me of having a girlfriend behind her back for months, and you did not need to get drawn into anything."

"Oh, and do you have a girlfriend, Mr. Potter?" she asked coyly.

Harry's cheeks flushed at her question. "No I do not," he answered, starting to feel a little shy. He turned away from looking at her directly. "Not sure that I am ready for that right now, so soon after putting an end to the fiasco of my most recent relationship." Harry turned to look Daphne in the eye as he tried to read her reaction to his response. He noted nothing and thought to himself 'there is a reason she is called the Ice Queen.' Harry searched her deep blue eyes for some sort of hint as to what she was thinking or feeling, but he still saw nothing. "But I am woefully in need of a good friend," he added. Then he surprised himself as he gently took her left hand in his right and spun her slightly so that they faced the Leaky Cauldron. "Let's go get some lunch, and a quiet muggle restaurant and we can talk more there." Harry noted the slight reaction of shock on her face as he and grasped Daphne's hand, but the look was gone so quickly he started to doubt if he had really seen it.

Daphne felt that her skills are maintaining an impassive mask on her face were being greatly tested as Harry had taken a hold of her hand. Internally she was grinning from ear to ear as she let the raven haired young men lead her out of Diagon Alley and into muggle London.

* * *

Harry nearly dragged Daphne to the restaurant he had been planning on going to. It was a simple establishment, with plain tables and minimalist décor.

"You brought me here?" questioned Daphne as she looked around the room after they were seated in a booth in the corner. "You really didn't have to bring me to such a lavish restaurant. I'm surprised they even let us in here with the way we are dressed."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her comments, and finally even Daphne couldn't keep a straight face any longer as she started to smile.

Harry smiled back as he said, "It's not about the decorations, but about the food and the company."

Daphne reached across the table and gave his hand a slight squeeze. She looked at the laminated sheet that served as the menu. She glanced over the items and looked back up at Harry. "Fish and chips?"

"The best in all of London," said Harry, "or at least the best that I have found."

They proceeded to place their order and settled in to enjoy their time together. However, there was an awkward silence as the two sat and looked at each other. Eventually Daphne's curiosity about the earlier scene in front of Diagon Alley caused her to speak.

"So what was all of that between you and Ginny?" she asked, hoping not to scare him off from talking.

"That was more evidence of why she is my ex-girlfriend, and someone whom I wish to avoid," answered Harry quietly. He looked down at the table in front of him for a moment and then he looked back at Daphne. "Maybe I should explain a little more about that. But then again, maybe I am boring you to tears by my endless monologing about me. Perhaps Malfoy was right, I am just an attention seeking self-centered prat." Harry looked away feeling that he was once again dominating the discussion with his new friend.

Again Daphne reached across the table and this time she gently grasped both of his hands. "Mr. Potter, I learned a lot about you last night, and one of those things I learned is that you are not a prat and that you are not self-centered. It is easy for anyone who knows you to see that you clearly do not seek attention. So back to the matter at hand, I would like to hear about what happened and why. Before I showed up in the pub yesterday, you were the Boy-Who-Lived, and the Vanquisher-of-Voldemort, a mythical character out of some fanciful muggle novel, but now I have been getting to know the real you. I like the Harry I've been getting to know. I care about this person who I met at an unnamed pub yesterday, and I would like to get to know you better. So, I am all ears. Maybe it will do you some good to share about what lead to that encounter with the fiery hair and personality to match." She gave him a soft smile to show her sincerity.

Harry had to work hard to not let his mouth hang open in shock. Here he was sitting with one of the most beautiful witches he had ever met, one who had a reputation for being cold and heartless, and she was being kind and asking him to open up to her, and letting her emotions show all at the same time.

Harry swallowed hard, reached over to take a sip of water from one of the glasses which the waitress had left at the table, then he began to share some of the details of his life he had never talked to anyone about. "Well, it goes back to our sixth year, when I had started dating Ginny. Actually, I was kind of nervous about dating her as she had seemed to be dating one guy after another for the previous two years. And up until that time I had always just thought of her as my mates little sister. Then I started thinking about her all of the time. And we eventually started dating. But then I knew I would not be returning to Hogwarts for our seventh year, and I knew that I needed to distance myself from some of my friends, because I was worried that Riddle would send his Death Eaters after them, so I broke it off with Ginny before her brother married Fleur. Well, then Ron and Hermione and I had to leave to prepare for my final battle against Riddle."

Daphne interrupted him at this point. "We all noticed you were gone. The new staff, the Death Eaters were all livid that you could not be found. What were you up to?"

Harry made a slight frown as he thought of the best way to answer her. "It was something we could not talk about to others, and I am still not sure that telling anyone else about what I had to do would be a good idea." Harry noted the wounded look in her eyes, and he had a sudden urge to tell her everything. He fought that urge as he reached back to take her hand. "It is not that I don't trust you, it is just something that I really can't talk to others about. Stuff that even the Unspeakables at the Ministry of Magic don't know much of anything about."

He paused until he saw her expression soften again, before he continued with his story. "Well, during the time that the three of us were on our mission, we actually got split up. Ron did not stay with us the whole time. It was then that I realized that I was attracted to Hermione. But she was dating Ron and I had encouraged that, I had even told her that I looked at her as a sister and a friend, so as to make it clear that I thought it would be okay for her and Ron to get together. Well, by the time we got back to Hogwarts, right before the battle, well I had realized that I wasn't sure that I really had any feelings for Ginny, and that I really did like Hermione, but it was too late for that kind of relationship with her."

Harry paused in his story as the waitress placed their food on the table.

"So, you know the basic details of the Battle at Hogwarts. After the battle was over, Neville, or Lord Longbottom now, came to talk to me. He shared with me that Ginny had been dating several different guys during the year. He just thought I should know."

"Well, she was quite amorous with a whole series of guys," added Daphne. "I never realized that you two had dated before, and I was actually surprised that you were dating her after the whole war was over. From what I knew of you, from the distance, you seemed a little quiet for her."

Harry just nodded and continued to talk in between bites of the fish and chips and sips of beer. "Anyways, I actually confronted her about what had happened and she denied it all. She claimed that Neville made the whole story up because he tried to make moves on her, thinking that they could pick up from when he took her to the Yule Ball several years before and that he was just mad because she turned him down."

Daphne scoffed at that idea. "Harry, I have known Neville since we were children, being from Noble families and all, and Neville would never do that. He was strong, he was the leader of the Gryffindors and their supporters as they rebelled against the Carrows and the Death Eaters. I hope you believed him."

Harry smiled, "Of course I did, I have never had a reason to question Neville. He has been a true and brave friend ever since we met. He is one of my true friends who has even had the nerve to stand up against me when he disagreed with me. Ginny was furious that I chose to remain friends with Neville after everything that was said."

"Well that explains some of the animosity between the two of you," commented Daphne. "But what was all that drivel she was spewing about living off of your trust fund. Most young people from Noble and Ancient Houses have trust funds, but that can;t be all that your family has left. The Potter family is an old and very wealthy family, one of the original founding families."

"True," said Harry who looked away as he was mentally struggling about how much more he should tell her. "And the Weasley family thinks that is all that I have, and technically, it is all that have. You see, the goblins seized the rest of my family's vaults."

Daphne looked horrified. "Bloody hell, what could you have ever done to make them do that? You single-handedly defeated the most powerful dark wizard in over a century, one who was making business horrible for everyone, including the goblins. Why on earth would they seize your vaults?"

A sheepish grin crossed Harry's face. He answered her quietly, barely above a whisper. "I broke into one of the highest security vaults to steal an item, and I damaged a significant part of the bank when we made our escape on the back of one of their ancient dragons, who we freed."

Daphne was in shock.

"So, the goblins are not to pleased with me," he added, stating that fact as though it were as simple as one plus one equals two.

"I would think not!" she exclaimed, and then she quieted herself down so as not to draw any und attention to the two of them. "You actually stole something from Gringott's, and you stole a dragon? If anyone else told me this story I would know for sure that they were lying to me. But, that is amazing." She paused and then looked at him with her eyes set with a seriousness Harry had not encountered before. "You are in debt to the entire goblin nation? They haven't executed you yet? What are they waiting for?"

Harry shrugged, "Well, we have come to an arrangement, an understanding. I have a job to do for them, or a mission you might say. Once that is accomplished, I will be returned to full status within the goblin nation, my family vaults will be returned to me, and I will be able to move on with my life."

"No one else knows about this deal with the goblins?" asked a still shocked Daphne.

"No, not even Ron and Hermione," he answered. "All they know is that the goblins are only upset with me, not with them. They were with me because I told them to accompany me, or so the goblins view it, and thus they are not demanding payment for the damages from either of them. So, I have been having regular meetings with Ragnok, the Chief Administrator here at the London Branch for Gringotts. He continues to over see the Potter Family Vaults and investments. I just have limited access to anything that is not in my trust vault."

"Which is why Ginny thinks that is all that you have," concluded Daphne.

Harry nodded.

"But you haven't told her the truth about your finances," said Daphne, clearly making a statement and not asking a question. After a moment she continued, "So why haven't you told her what is going on?"

Harry shifted in his seat slightly, and Daphne could detect that he was getting a little uncomfortable with the conversation, but her continued with his response. "Ragnok did take me to the family vault. My parents' will was there. And there was apparently a copy of my own will."

"You made a will already?" gasped Daphne with her initial surprised. Then she thought about it for a minute and then she added, "But I suppose that would only make sense if you knew you had to face You-Know-Who and you thought you might die."

"I never wrote a will," Harry said flatly. "Well, not at that time. I have one now though."

"What do you mean, you never wrote a will? But you said..." Daphne let her words trail off as the truth started to slowly sink in.

"I never wrote a will, but someone tried to make one magically without my consent," he finished her thought for her.

"But who? Why?" Daphne nearly stuttered as she spoke.

"The answers were clear from reading the will," Harry spoke trying to suppress the anger that was rising within as he recalled the details of the will. "All of my money and my possessions were to be divided equally between the Weasley family, any surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix, and Hogwarts Academy." Harry let the reality of those words sink in for a minute. Then he explained a little further, "The Order of the Phoenix is the group of followers that Dumbledore organized to fight Tom Riddle, and the Weasleys never knew the full story of my vaults, and were only aware of my trust vault as that was the only vault I knew of when I was a student."

"There was a conspiracy against you? From those who claimed to support you?" Daphne was shocked as the enormity of the implications of the will was overwhelming to her.

"To be fair," Harry spoke with an understated kindness, "they all expected I would die in the battle. I don't think Dumbledore had any idea that I would actually survive. Oh, he knew that I would have to be the one to defeat Tom Riddle, but I am not sure he knew that I would also survive."

Daphne looked at him, a tenderness in her expression that flattered Harry, "But there were rumours of a prophecy, concerning the two of you."

"Yes," nodded Harry. "That neither of us could survive while the other lived. Ultimately, he lost, I won, and I am still here. Now I just have to finish the rest of the obligations I have remaining and I can eventually be a free man."

"But the forged will," asked Daphne, "did you confront the Weasleys about it?"

"No," sighed Harry. "Ragnok advised that I keep that information to myself. As that will has been invalidated, and I have created a valid one, it would give me some leverage with them if ever I needed it. However, I don't think that it will be an issue going forward."

"So is that why Witch Weasel wants you to get a job so badly?" asked Daphne. "She thinks you really are poor?"

"She does not want me being supported by her," Harry said with a hint of pity in voice. "She thinks I need to be responsible for once in my life."

"But why don;t you play quidditch?" she asked. "I saw you play at Hogwarts, you are a great seeker. There are many teams that would love to have you on their team."

"I actually was considering it. However, when I made arrangements for my tryouts with various squads, Ron was not being given a tryout anywhere. I knew how devastated he would be if I could play quidditch and he couldn't, so I decided not to show up for the try outs and I moved on."

"You gave up a professional quidditch career for friendship?" Daphne was beside herself at this thought. "You should have been in Hufflepuff," she stated firmly.

Harry shrugged again. "Well, it wasn't as important to me anymore, playing quidditch, So I decided to try and become an Auror, all I really knew was how to fight dark wizards. I've been doing it since I was a toddler. Well, due to the war decimating the ranks of the Auror corps, the qualifications for becoming an Auror were relaxed, so Ron had the opportunity to enroll. However, last week I decided to leave the program."

Daphne had thought she had been surprised enough by Harry so far this afternoon. "Why the heck did you do such a foolish thing?" she asked.

"That is another story for another day," said Harry with a grin.

He noted that they had finished eating their fish and chips. He looked at his watch and he then back at Daphne. "well, I do have a meeting I need to be heading to shortly."

Daphne gave a smile as she explained that she had a business meeting to attend to herself this afternoon. Harry then paid the tab, tossed a tip on to their table as they left the restaurant and headed out into the street. As they were about to head their separate ways, Harry turned to Daphne.

"You know, I would really like to hear about you, and think you must be getting bored from listening to my voice all the time." He gave her a grin as he squeezed her hand and stepped back slightly.

Daphne bit her lip, and then she spoke, "Dinner tonight? My place? You bring the food and I'll tell you about me. How does that sound?"

Harry gave a wry smile. "Sounds wonderful, Actually, if I bring the food, I will cook it there. It'll be a surprise."

Daphne smiled back. "I am not sure if I should be excited or worried. With you cooking that is."

Harry's smile faded slightly. "Oh, my cooking skill is quite good, I've done it for quite some time. That is something you should not worry about at all."

Daphne looked down at her feet and then back at Harry. "Well, say about half five, if you need time to cook? I'll supply the wine, again."

Harry laughed as he remembered how much wine they had consumed the night before. Or at least, how much he realized they had consumed when he saw the empty bottles this morning. Harry then walked down the road to a nearby alley. He then reached into the small pouch that Ragnok had given to him and grasped one of the port-keys. He felt the tug at his navel as he disappeared from the alley.

Daphne returned to her apartment where she changed into muggle business woman's attire. She then headed out to the several scheduled appointments she had, with several merchants that relied heavily on imports for their businesses.

* * *

A gentleman wearing a suit that did not quite fit him, walked into the office of one Professor Rawling Smith at Pembroke college. Professor Smith looked up at the man whose face was obscured by a poorly trimmed beard. The sparkling green eyes caught his attention.

"Excuse me, sir," said Professor Smith, "and who might you be?"

Reaching into a tattered satchel at his side, the man pulled out a worn business card. "Hagrid, Professor, Rubeus Hagrid. I had written to you earlier. I teach at a small school in Scotland, McGonagall College. No, I am sure you have never heard of it, but I was hoping to take a moment of your time to discuss some of your writings."

Rawling Smith had never had much academic interest in his writings on myths, legends and magical creatures before. He looked at the card and then back at the man in front of him. Sizing him up he thought he didn't quite look like a typical professor, but then again, he wasn't sure what the typical professor from a small unheralded school should look like. But, he reasoned to himself, here was a potential colleague who seemed genuinely interested in his work.

"Very well, my good man," said Smith. "Why don't you have a seat here?" and he waved towards a chair across from his desk. After the professor with the ill-fitting suit and the piercing green eyes took the seat, he continued. "So what can I do for you this fine day?"

"Well, I have read your most recent book, 'Myth, Mysteries, and Legend' and I had some questions that I felt would be best to speak with you directly about." He noted a wariness come over the professor sitting behind the ornate wooden desk. "No, I am not here to poke fun at you, I truly am curious about several myths and legends, and I have come to the conclusion that you are the only person who can help me answer these questions."

"Very well," responded Professor Smith, still with clear trepidation in his voice. "What sort of questions? I have had enough of crack pot journalists trying to get exclusives for their pathetic excuses of magazines or newspapers. I do not take kindly to people wasting my time for their own perverted pleasure from ridiculing the supposed loony professor."

"Right, then let's get to the point," continued the man with the unkempt beard. "Would you be willing to share with me any of your sources for the myths and legends which you expound upon?"

"From both a personal and a professional standpoint, I am afraid that is quite impossible," came the stern reply.

"I expected that you would say that," sighed the visitor. "Well, perhaps I can persuade you, and no I do not mean coerce you. In your writings, you claim to have knowledge of the existence of such creatures as unicorns, centaurs and other mythical beasts. You make references to beings that would be considered old wives tales – vampires and werewolves. Clearly there can be only one true explanation for such knowledge. And no muggle born could possibly know these things."

The professor stared at him for a moment. "What do you mean, muggle born?"

"Either that or you are a wizard living in the muggle world," stated the man as he stroked his beard. "You are not originally from England, are you? You did not attend school here growing up? Was it the Salem Institute in the States or was it Durmstrang? I doubt highly then that you went to school at Beauxbatons, you do not strike me as the French type."

The professor's countenance fell. He straightened himself in his chair, and his expression became that of an animal that was cornered.

"Relax, my friend," said the man as his green eyes twinkled. "I have no idea why you are hiding here in the mundane world, portraying yourself as a scholarly professor at an esteemed center of higher education. But I assure you, I do need you assistance." He waved his hand and his appearance changed. The beard was gone, the frumpy suit was gone. Professor Rawling Smith stared into the emerald green eyes of a young man wearing a wide-brimmed hat that nearly hid his face, and he noted that he wore a dragon hide cloak. The young man stood from his chair and reintroduced himself. "My apologies for the subterfuge, but I did not want any wandering eyes knowing that I came to meet with you. Let me introduce myself to you again. The name is Potter, Harry Potter..."

* * *

**AN: In response to the question from redstickbonbon: Teddy is being raised by his grandmother - Andromeda - and thus I have a convenient excuse to leave Teddy out of the story for right now - well - it works for me...**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: future updates may not be so quick...sorry**

* * *

There was a knock on the door. The man sitting behind the desk was not exactly pleased with being disturbed. He was reviewing ledgers for his business, and he was not happy with the numbers. He was a tall man, but sitting behind his desk, slumping forward, it was not easy to tell. His broad shoulders were rolled forward as he was scanning the numbers before him. No matter how he looked at it, no matter how long he studied the information in front of him, he was left with the same conclusion and he was not happy. And he was definitely not happy to be disturbed.

He growled at the door, "You may enter."

The door swung open gently and a beautiful young blonde woman in a muggle style business suit walked in. His eyes lit up with joy in seeing his daughter, despite her lack of traditional witches clothing. "Daphne!" he greeted, his frustration behind him as he stood to meet his daughter. He walked around his large oak desk and gave her a quick embrace followed by a kiss on each cheek. "My beautiful angel, how did today go?"

Daphne Greengrass, eldest daughter in the Greengrass family, slid into a chair and sulked. "I am sorry father, but I have failed you again today." She avoided looking the man in the eye.

Jonathan Greengrass did have an imposing presence, with his tall frame of nearly 1.9 meters and his broad shoulders, he looked as though he could have been formidable beater on a quidditch team. But for all of his appearance as a tough man, he was very gentle with his family. He reached out to caress her cheek to comfort the blonde young woman in front of him. He marveled at how much she looked like her mother. "Daphne, it will be alright and I do not blame you. Thank you once again for trying."

Daphne turned away from her father's gentle touch. "It will not be alright. I have reviewed your ledgers. I know what is happening to the family business. I am not blind and do not treat me like a fool. Greengrass Imports will someday be mine to run, or perhaps Astoria's, but if there is no family business then what will I have?"

She stood up and walked to the other side of the ornately decorated office.

Jonathan sat back against the edge of his desk, knowing full well that an attempt to approach his daughter now would be futile. He let out a slow sigh before beginning to speak to her.

"Now, my precious laurel nymph, we will have none of this pouting and carrying on. I know that the current state of our financial affairs is not looking good..." began Jonathan until his daughter cut him off.

"No it is not!" she screamed at him as tears began to flow. Daphne had learned long ago to hide her emotions, something she never was able to do in front of her father, and now she was having a hard time doing it in front of Harry Potter, but she knew she could not hold back her tears so she did not even try. "The Death Eaters, and the Dark Lord and their damnable wars! They ruined our business, your business. In all of his quest for power and glory he was so short sighted. Wars do not necessarily go tot he most powerful, but often to the one who can control the economy. They destroyed the economy by their actions! The pure-bloods cannot support the economy of magical Britain alone."

"That is a fact that is all too obvious to us in these trying times. But the ministry is setting things back on course. We should be able to weather this storm," he said trying to reassure her.

"But what if we cannot 'weather this storm' papa?" she asked, reverting to her more familiar nickname for her father.

Jonathan was a patient man, and he knew he needed to let his daughter vent, but he knew he needed to be strong. "What would you have me do, or what you have had me do before? Supporting the Dark Lord would have been the complete ruination of our family, much less our ideals. Opposing him could have destroyed us easily as well, as you are too well aware of the attacks that his followers made against those they viewed as blood traitors. They treated them almost as badly as the muggle born and the half-bloods. Staying neutral was the only way we could survive."

"But at what cost, papa?" she cried, "at what cost? The supporters of Voldemort will no longer do business with our family because they view as as traitors to their cause. The supporters of the light, of the current ministry, of Potter, they will not do business with us anymore either, for we would not oppose the Dark Lord. This is so unfair!" Daphne hid her face in her hands as she let her emotions go and her face was covered with tears.

Lord Greengrass walked over to his daughters side and knelt down beside her and wrapped his large arms around her petite frame. "I am sure it is not as bad as you perceive it to be," he said as he tried to comfort her.

Daphne snapped her head back up and looked her father in the eyes. "Not as bad? How can that be? By pulling out that marriage contract? You know what I went through in school to protect myself from that cretin. He is foul. He is marked. We all saw it in school. His family is in disgrace. How can a marriage contract with that useless excuse for a wizard possibly help us? I would rather die than marry Malfoy!"

Jonathan nearly fell backwards in reaction to the anger in his daughters words. "I know how you feel, and your mother knows how you feel. I would never ask you to do this."

Daphne looked at her father in shock. "No!, You couldn't do that to her. Not to Tori! She doesn't deserve such a fate!"

Daphne had not noticed that her mother had entered the office. She was pained to see her husband and her eldest daughter disagreeing like this. She cleared her throat to make her presence known. "There are always benefits from the uniting of two noble families," she stated simply. "And you know the binding of the marriage contract. The Greengrass and Malfoy families have an outstanding contract for the past two generations. There is now a male heir to the Malfoy line and two potential wives in the Greengrass family. If this does not happen by the time the youngest is age 23, then the consequences would be most unpleasant for the parties involved."

Daphne muttered under her breath, "Why couldn't the little ferret have been killed off during the war like his goon Crabbe."

Isabella Greengrass heard her daughter's whispered comment but she chose to not dwell on it. "I hear that he was changed by the war," she offered to her daughter as a thought to consider.

"Well, losing your family's title and reputation and wealth may have a way of doing that to you," snapped Daphne. "Or is it just that he ended up backing the wrong horse." She looked up at her mother as she continued her reply. "After spending six years at school trying to embarrass, discredit, harass and attack Harry Potter he finally lost. He never once beat Potter in quidditch. He never once beat Potter in anything. And then to have Harry go and defeat his precious Dark Lord, well, I would think that would change a person."

Jonathan looked from Daphne and then to Isabella. He mouthed "Harry?" in a question to his wife. She shrugged her shoulders in response as she had no idea why their daughter had called the Boy-Who-Lived by his first name. It was her custom to refer to almost everyone by their last name. Before he could turn to question his daughter, his wife mouthed back to him the word "Don't" and he knew better than to dare disobey that simple command.

Daphne wiped her eyes, and then stood up and looked at her father and then turned to her mother. "I am sorry for losing control of myself. I will endeavor to not let this happen again." She turned to her father, "I will keep on working on this, our family's business must succeed. I will see to it." She turned back to her mother. "I really must get going, I have plans with a friend tonight. I don't want to keep them waiting." With that she walked up to her mother, gave her a kiss on both cheeks and then she went to the family living room and used the floo to return to her home.

Isabella followed her daughter with her eyes and then after she had left she turned back to her husband. "Did she just call him 'Harry'?" she asked.

* * *

Daphne made it to her flat and collapsed in her bedroom in tears. She felt miserable. Her family's business was in trouble. But to make things worse either she or her sister would have to marry Draco Malfoy. She knew that it would probably come to this, which is why she had gone to the muggle pub the other day to drown her sorrows, which led to her meeting Harry Potter. "Harry!" she screamed in her mind. "He'll be here shortly," she thought as she forced herself off of her bed where she had been laying down since arriving home. She quickly stripped off her muggle business suit and grabbed a quick shower. She hoped that the quick change and freshening up would help her be more emotionally stable by the time Harry arrived. As she dressed in a comfortable pair of jeans and a simple blouse she went to her kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. She berated herself for getting so worked up about seeing Harry Potter. Why was she acting like a school girl with a crush? She berated hersef for allowing her Ice Queen persona to weaken in his presence. But he was the first person with whom she had allowed herself to be open with and become friends with since she was young. She missed her best friend, Tracey Davis, and she wished she was able to talk to her. But ever since the war ended and having lost her family to a Death Eater attack she had gone to live with relatives in the United States. Occasionally they would write each other, but with the distance it has been hard for the two young women to keep in close contact. Her thoughts were brought to a stop by the sound of a knock on the door to her apartment.

Daphne opened the door to find Harry looking a little haggard carrying a couple of sacks of groceries. He has his customary grin in place with his hat dipped low to prevent anyone from seeing his scar.

"Uh, can I come in?" asked Harry standing in the hallway.

Daphne realized she had opened the door and just stared at him. "Oh sorry come on in," she beckoned. "I was just surprised to see you at the door, I had figured you would use the floo."

Harry smiled but shook his head. "That's not about to happen when I'm carrying the makings of our meal together. I would have just ended up on the floor in a mess and who knows what would have happened to the bags of food. So, I decided to play it safe, apparated to a point nearby and just walked here the rest of the way."

Daphne's jaw dropped. "Wait, you mean you can't use a floo properly? But everyone knows how to use a floo."

Harry flushed a bit as he started feeling self-conscious about his difficulty with exiting from the floo system. He turned his head slightly to hide his face as he felt the warmth spreading over his face.

Daphne recognized Harry's reaction as on of shame. "Oh, I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean for it come across like that. It's just..." She paused in mid sentence as she realized her words were not about to help the matter. "When did you first use the floo network? And who taught you how to use it?" she asked, with a much more tender tone.

Harry grimaced slightly as he answered, "Just before we started second year, I was at the Weasleys and we had to floo to Diagon Alley to do our school shopping. I ended up in Knockturn Alley by mistake." Harry turned and headed to the kitchen with the food.

Daphne followed quickly, and upon arriving in the kitchen she helped him with the food. She wanted to offer some sort of advice or find something to say to ease his embarrassment but nothing would come to mind. Finally she settled for asking about the meal. "So, what are we having tonight?" she asked, hoping the change in topic would improve his spirits.

Harry's eyes beamed as he began to prepare the meal. He turned to wash his hands and spoke over his shoulder, "I call it Chicken Alfredo, Ala Potter."

Daphne scrunched her eyes, "And what, pray tell, would that be?"

Harry laughed slightly, "Fettuccine Alfredo with broiled chicken, some vegetables sautéed with garlic and spices."

Daphne was shocked by the sound of such a meal being prepared by Harry. He looked at her and asked, "Would you like to help?"

Now Daphne blushed slightly. "I wouldn't know where to begin, most of our meals are prepared by our house elves, I only manage simple things here, eat out or eat at home with my parents."

Harry stopped and looked at her with surprise, and then an idea came to him and he shared it with Daphne. "How about we make a deal? I'll help you learn how to cook and you can help me to learn how to use a floo better?"

Daphne smiled at the thought, and quickly answered that she would love to take him up on the arrangement.

Harry soon had her preparing the chicken to be broiled after they had the water heating up to cook the fettuccine. He carefully explained how he would later add the butter and the cream and then the shredded Parmesan and Asiago cheese to the pasta while the vegetables sautéed with the spices in olive oil. As they were making progress with the meal preparations, Harry broached the topic for the evening.

"So, Daphne, the last few times we have been together I have told you all about myself," began Harry.

Daphne interrupted him as she stated, "You most definitely have not told me ALL about yourself, but I will concede the point that you have shared a lot with me." She gave a nervous grin as she was not sure how easy it would be to open about herself, to anyone, let alone the famous Boy-Who-Lived.

"As I was saying," continued Harry, "I have shared a lot about myself with you, but I still know very little about Daphne, the Ice Queen of Slytherin. I don't know your favorite colour..."

"It used to be blue," she interjected.

"Or what your dreams or goals are. What you dreamed about when you were young, or why you were so cold to everyone while we were at Hogwarts."

Daphne sat down on a chair in the kitchen, while Harry tended to the cooking.

"Well, I could say the same thing about you, Harry," quipped Daphne. "I don't know your favorite color, or your dreams or goals, or what you dreamed about when you were young."

"That's not the point, now, is it?" he asked rhetorically.

"So where should I begin?" she asked as she stood up and walked over to a rack that held several bottles of wine. She deftly grabbed two glasses and set them on the table. She pulled a cork screw out of a drawer and stared at it. After a moment, she slid her wand into her hand, waved it at the wine bottle and the cork popped out and on to the counter.

Harry had been watching this and laughed at the site of her using magic to do something he thought would have been easy to do. "I can teach you how to use a cork screw, too," he added.

Daphne scowled at him, "Well, that was a much easier way to open the bottle." She poured them each a glass and handed one to Harry. "It might help me relax if I am about to open up to some boy all about myself. So, where do you want me to start?"

Harry thought for a moment and then he said, "How about telling me all about growing up in a magical family, and then you can tell me why you ended up in the pub the other evening."

"What is so special about growing up in a magical family?" she asked, and then she put her hand to her mouth. "I am so sorry Harry, I forgot that you were raised by your muggle relatives. Or at least that is what I had heard. You really haven't spoken about them at all."

Harry's smile left his face. "No, I haven't," he said simply, and his tone made it clear that there would be no more information about his muggle relatives tonight.

Daphne looked at him with a sadness in her eye. "Do you have any memories of when you were young, with your parents, before You-Know-Who..." she let the end of her question die as the words came out of her mouth. She saw the discomfort on Harry's face and she was worried she had offended him by her question.

Harry looked away for a moment and then turned back to face her. "Now, we already agreed, tonight is not about me, but it is about you, so no more questions about my past tonight." Harry seemed to have calmed himself down.

Daphne took another sip of her wine and then she began to tell him stories of learning about magic at an early age. How she was amazed when any accidental magic would happen. How her father would magically animate her toys and stuffed animals. He brought her a broom when she was five but she had no interest in flying. She always wanted a pony. Or a unicorn. But she made it clear that she was willing to settle for a simple pony. She never got one though. She talked about meeting Tracey Davis when she was three. How they always spent time together on the holidays. She mentioned that Tracey had moved to the States after the war as she had no family left in England.

Harry asked if she knew any of the other students from Hogwarts before they started school.

Daphne told stories of garden parties that would happen in the summer that the pure-blood families would have and how she met many of their classmates when she was young. She knew Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones, and Hannah Abbott from when they were all children. Many of her housemates from Slytherin would show up occasionally to the parties, especially Draco and his parents. Harry noted that she seemed to shiver when she mentioned the Malfoys, and he made a mental note to ask about that later.

Harry finally interrupted her and he asked, "So, what was Neville like as a young boy? He really did do a lot of growing up at school."

Daphne sighed, and then she told Harry how Neville was always quiet and shy. She remembered that he was always with his grandmother, who was a very intimidating person, and how she had never met his parents. She had tried to ask her parents about it once after one of the summer garden parties but they politely refused to discuss it with her.

Harry wondered how much Daphne's parents knew of the Longbottoms, and then he began to wonder if her family was friendly with his family at all. But he had no one he could really ask about that now, with the loss of his parents and then Sirius and then finally Moony.

"You okay there, Potter?" she asked as she noted that Harry seemed distracted.

Harry then turned as he was surprised by the loud piercing beeping noise. The smoke detector had been set off as he forgot to check on the broiling chicken.

"Bloody hell," he muttered as he pulled the damaged entrée out of the oven. Harry then concentrated on finishing cooking the meal as Daphne tried to figure out how much of the chicken could be saved.

Harry finished preparing the pasta dish and the vegetables when he looked at how little chicken was left. He gave a wry smile, and then he diced the remaining pieces and tossed it in with the fettuccine and Alfredo sauce.

"Well, I am sorry for nearly ruining our meal by getting caught up with listening to your stories, but I think we have rescued the dinner from the jaws of defeat. We should eat it while it is warm."

Daphne poured them each another glass of wine as they sat down at the table to eat. As she took the first bite of her food, she chewed ans swallowed and then exclaimed, "This is fantastic! How did you ever learn to cook like this?"

Harry paused before responding. He looked away as he tried to keep his emotions in check. "I had to cook from when I was five until I went off to school, and then I still had to cook for my relatives whenever I was at their house."

Daphne was about to say something about how it was wonderful that they taught him how to cook when his reaction and the manner in which he answered sunk in. She stopped herself from saying something. She realized that what he implied was that he had to cook, not that he wanted to cook for them.

"I am so sorry, Harry," said Daphne as she reached out a hand and rested it gently on his arm. "I had no idea, but you must have learned to hate cooking." She had tears forming in her eyes as she wondered what his childhood must have been like having been forced to cook from such a young age. She stopped trying to wonder for it was making no sense to her.

Harry turned and placed his other hand on hers, where it still lay on his arm. "No, it's alright. Really. You had no idea. I enjoy cooking. When I want to cook, not when I am forced to cook. I did learn a great deal by working in the kitchen. I learned to change recipes so that I liked them better. Although, that usually got my relatives upset with me. They didn't like things to change or to be different."

Daphne was torn between asking him more about what his childhood was like and letting it go. The more she thought about it, and how he had made it clear tonight was not to be about him, she decided to let him know. "Tonight is not about your past Harry, it is about mine. But I would like to know more about what things were like for you when you were younger. Really, I would." She tried to convey her concern to him with her words.

Harry looked at her closely, then he said quietly, "No, you really don't want to know those things. Trust me on this." He then slid his arm out from under her hand as he placed his other hand at his side. There was a chilling silence in the room for a moment and then Harry picked up his glass of wine and finished it in one big sip. Harry tried to lighten the mood and he turned back to Daphne, "I am sorry about that, but I do enjoy cooking, and I really enjoyed making this meal for you. So let's enjoy the food and get back to enjoying the company."

Daphne sighed internally as she knew it was best to move on with their conversation tonight.

They began to eat, quietly at first, and then Daphne got the nerve to speak up. "So, you wanted o know why I walked into that pub the other day," she said as she was finishing her meal.

Harry nodded, "I told you why I was there feeling sorry for myself..."

"Not exactly, Mr. Potter," corrected Daphne, "But it did become clear. But as to why I was there, well I was there for similar reasons as you." She let her words hang in the room for a minute as she reached for the courage to open up more. She then pleaded, "I don't want you to think of me as pathetic, or weak, or foolish."

Harry's eyes softened as he saw her vulnerable, a rare sight indeed for the Ice Queen. He spoke some words to comfort her, "Before these last few days I would have never guessed that you could be worried about what anyone thought about you, but I have learned of your friendship and you compassion for others, so no, I am pretty sure I won't think of you as weak or pathetic, or foolish. After all, who was the one involved in a public scene in Diagon Alley earlier today?"

Daphne laughed at the thought of being in such a public scene, and then she added, "And you will probably be on the cover of the Daily Prophet tomorrow because of it."

"Well then it is a good thing I won't be showing my face in the magical world for a few days now then won't it?" he added.

Daphne raised a quizzical eyebrow, but before she could ask, he cut her off. "No, tonight is about you, not me, but I will explain a little later. So back to where you were, entering the pub, and why."

She then began to tell of her frustrations with her family's business. She spoke about how she felt alone and isolated after her years at Hogwarts. How that was made worse by losing her best friend who had moved across the ocean.

Harry studied her face, which had the stoic expressionless mask he knew so well from their days in school. Then he asked her "Why?"

She was broken from her somber concentration. "Why what" she countered.

"Why the Ice Queen? Why keep people so far away?" Harry was clearly puzzled. "You're fun, you're intelligent, you're beautiful, so why keep everyone so far away? And for that matter, why did you even let me in the other day?"

Daphne finished her glass of wine and turned to face Harry as she began to answer. "The second pat is easier to answer. Why you? Because you were there. At the pub. And I was alone and feeling lonely. And there you were." She let her words sink in for a moment and then she continued. "I'm glad it was you and I am glad you let me sit. You're magical barriers almost made me turn away."

"They were designed to keep the muggles from bothering me," he said with a laugh, "I never expected a witch or a wizard to enter that pub that night. But I am glad you did." He then turned his face away slightly as he started to blush. Then he turned back to her, "and the first part? Why the Ice Queen persona?"

Now she looked down towards her feet. "To keep myself safe. To protect my heart, because I have known since I was young that there is a marriage contract out there, waiting to be fulfilled by either myself or my sister, Astoria. Either one of us could meet the requirements. If I am forced to marry someone because of a contract drawn up by my ancestors, then I never wanted to fall in love with someone who I could never be with." She looked up at Harry. "I have seen the way my parents care for each other. They have been in love since before I was born and they are still in love today. That is all I ever wanted in a relationship, a relationship which I may not get to choose, or if I do choose to marry someone I allow myself to fall in love with, then I condemn my sister to a loveless marriage. I could not do that to her. Or at least, I didn't think I could."

Harry was shocked at her pronouncement. "A marriage contract?" he asked, not sure what it all meant. "You mean one of your ancestors decided to sell you off without even knowing anything about you? Is this common in the magical world? Can you void the contract? What happens if you don't go through with it?"

Daphne turned and stood up and walked out of the dining area and sat on her large cushioned chair. She let out a long slow sigh. "I keep forgetting that you weren't raised in our world Harry and that there is still so much that you do not know." She turned to see that he had followed her, but he was standing in the entryway between the dining area and the lounge. "Yes it is, or was, common for pure-blood families to establish marriage contracts. It would help build strength and power by forcing alliances. And no, the contract can not be voided, unless there are specific clauses that give an out for either family. And if the contract is not fulfilled, then the party or parties who are unwilling to fulfill the contract will lose their magic. So, if I marry someone who is not the person indicated by the marriage contract, then either Astoria will have to marry him, or we will both lose our magic. And the Greengrass family will die out."

Harry was surprised again. "But you have no brothers, so won't the family die out anyways?"

"Not necessarily," answered Daphne. "If either my sister or I were to marry, and our husband was to agree before the wedding that a second son would be able to carry on the Greengrass family name, then we could continue our family and our long heritage as a Noble and Ancient House. Maybe I wanted to see what life as a muggle would be like, maybe that is why I rented this flat and went to the pub. Maybe I want to see if I could survive without my magic." Daphne looked away from Harry, picked up her glass of wine which she had brought with her and spoke quietly into her glass, "And then I met you there."

Harry had slowly made his way to the sofa, and then when he heard the last words she muttered into her glass, he slumped down into the comfortable piece of furniture with a heavy thud.

Daphne looked up at the young man who appeared defeated on her couch. "You probably hate me now, don't you? You think I've been leading you on, being nice to you, and now you know there is nothing more between us than being friends and that won't last either."

Her words stung, and he looked up at her, his eyes wide from the pain she had just inflicted. "I've only really known you for a few days, and you dismiss me so readily?"

"What would you have me do?" she pleaded. "If I have to marry someone, someone who I do not want to be with, then what am I supposed to say to him? Oh, by the way, I'd like you to meet my good friend, you might have heard of him, Harry bloody Potter, the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, you know, the one who ended the last war by destroying the most powerful dark lord in a century? You won't mind my being friends with him? You won't mind my comparing every little thing you will ever do to him?" She looked at him with a sadness in her eyes that Harry did not think was possible. "This is not the muggle world, I can't walk away from it. I can't subject Tori to this."

Harry felt numb. He was growing to care for Daphne, he was hoping that maybe they could have more than a friendship, but he definitely valued the friendship as that was something which had been running in short supply. He wondered if he could ever end up dating her, or being with her, but now these thoughts seemed to be dashed. Finally he spoke up, "When does this contract have to be fulfilled?"

She brushed the tears from her eyes, as she looked up at him. "What was that?" she asked.

"When does this have to happen?" he repeated. "When do you lose your magic if neither you nor your sister marry this person? And who do you have to marry?"

Daphne's eyes continued to water as she answered, "By Astoria's 23rd birthday. That is when the wedding has to happen." She chose not to answer the final question.

"You do know who it is that one of you has to marry," Harry said, clearly a statement and not a question this time.

"Yes," she said in a whisper.

"And I know this person?" Harry asked, tentatively.

"Yes," she whispered again.

"And there is no other way to void the contract? You must marry whoever it is?"

"I have not found any loopholes, or any way out. Either Tori or I will have to be married within the next 5 years."

Harry was agitated as he knew there was something more she hadn't told him. He didn't dare ask that question though, for it was clear how upset she was. The two sat in the room without speaking, without looking at each other for nearly fifteen minutes, until Daphne spoke one word.

"Malfoy."

Harry shook his head upon hearing that name. He looked at her as though she was inflicted with a deadly disease.

She looked at Harry unable to hide the sadness in her eyes. His face was without emotion. Finally she spoke, "I heard that the war changed him. I haven't seen him or spoken to him since the end of the war."

Harry stood up and walked over to Daphne ans gently placed his hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him, he cupped the side of her face. "I know that this is hard on you, but I never abandon my friends and I am not about to do that now."

She reached up and took his hand with both of hers. "Thank you, I needed to hear that," she said in reply. "Now what do we do?"

Harry sighed, as he gently removed his hand from hers. "Well, I have a long day tomorrow, in follow-up from what I had to do earlier today. So I need to be going. But I am looking forward to lessons on how to floo correctly. Perhaps you can come over tomorrow evening, and we can have a meal prepared for us by someone else."

Her eyes began to light up at this invitation. Then she squinted as she looked at him, "Prepared by who?"

Harry just gave her a grin, and then he kissed her on her forehead before turning to leave. As he approached her fireplace, he looked back at her and said, how about six tomorrow evening?"

"Sounds good," answered Daphne, then she asked, "But where?"

Harry grabbed some floo powder, tossed it into the fire-place as he stated very clearly, "Potter Manor," and then he stepped into the green flames.

* * *

Harry arrived at Pembroke College early the next morning. He greeted Professor Smith and the two made their way to the library. They began pouring over various texts in the section that was restricted to faculty only and after several hours, they both sat there, frustrated that they had yet to learn anything about any of the magical creatures that was not readily available in textbooks through out the magical world.

Professor Smith found an old text in a book that had clearly not been used for many decades at best. He thumbed through the pages and he came upon a passage that intrigued him. There was a discussion about charms used to control animals and magical creatures, and then there was a reference to Merlin and his work with Arthur Pendragon. Professor Smith excitedly pointed out this passage to Harry, who only responded by scratching his head in confusion.

Harry spoke quietly as he asked the professor, "So how exactly does this help us?"

Rawling Smith's eyes began to twinkle. Harry hated that look, but pushed the emotional response aside.

"We need a source to help us find what exactly Merlin was able to do to control animals. I have heard rumours that Merlin had a dragon he spoke to, and if he had a dragon, then he might know how to solve your dilemma." The professor seemed giddy with excitement now.

Harry was still confused. "And just how will we find out about Merlin?"

"How do muggles know about dragons and elves and magic?" he asked.

Harry wondered, and he then answered too quickly, "But they don't know about it. We have the statutes of secrecy. The DMLE sends out obliviators to remove any memory of magic from the minds of muggles who might witness magic."

"But they know about magic. Oh, they may not believe in it, but they write stories about dragons and magic and elves..." Professor Smith let the last statement hang. Harry nodded his understanding. "And who is perhaps the most noted authority on dragons and magic and elves?"

"That would be you sir, but you are not a muggle," added Harry.

"No, no, no," scolded Rawling. "What muggle author has the most detailed stories in the past one hundred years?"

"Well, the muggles all seem to enjoy the Lord of The Rings. That has elves," Harry said, and then he remembered, "And the Hobbit had a dragon. But how does that help us?"

"You really need to think on your own more, you do know that, Harry," stated the professor. "Tolkien was the author of those stories and he was a professor here at this college."

"But didn't he die, years ago, even before I was born?" asked Harry, still puzzling over this information.

"Yes he did, but he was the professor for Olde English, and he was quite the linguist," confided Rawling, who started to get a gleam in his eye.

"But how does this help us sir?" Harry asked again.

"Well, if we can't speak with Tolkien himself, maybe we need to have a little chat with his successor, the current professor for Olde English Studies here."

* * *

**AN: I will be on vacation for most of the next 2 weeks, so there may not be an update for some time, but I will work to keep on writing the story. Thanks again for all of your support and your reviews. I hopefully I have answered many of your questions, but I believe that you all may only have more now...be patient.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: The next few paragraphs overlap chronologically with the last section of the previous chapter. Sorry if this is confusing, but it is bringing out different details from the same encounter between Harry and Professor Smith. Hopefully this helps keep the flow of the story clearer now…..**

* * *

Harry left Daphne's flat after tossing some floo powder into her fireplace and then mentioning to her where he was headed, Potter Manor. He had landed almost on his face as he tumbled out of the floo. To make matters worse, he arrived in his sitting room to an audience. As it turns out, the goblins had managed to find a number of house elves who were friends with Dobby, as no relatives could be identified who were available to bond with Harry. A couple of the house elves were formerly employed at Hogwarts, but had been allowed to bond with a family. Harry looked up into the large round eyes of five house elves who all seemed as surprised as he was. He had not expected a welcoming committee, and he not intended to make such a grand entrance. They had not expected the famous Harry Potter, friend to elves and goblins and all magical creatures, to fall on his face just from using the floo. The group of house elves all quickly offered to help their new master, the famous Harry Potter who was too kind, just as they had heard Dobby tell, for he had taken them away from less fulfilling work and was giving them the honour of serving such a kind and gracious master. Harry quickly learned the names of the elves, Tam, Malcolm, Books, Hoban, and Flopsy.

The next morning Harry returned to work with Professor Smith. Harry had along day trying to delve for information at Pembroke College with the increasingly helpful Professor Rawling Smith. Harry had learned that Professor Smith had left America to avoid scrutiny from the United States Congress of Magic. He had wanted to tell the world about wizards and witches and magical creatures, but the Secrecy of Magic statutes there, as throughout the world prevented him from doing so. He had studied in muggle, or mundane, universities, obtaining a degree in mythical creatures. Many of the mundane world viewed him as a quack, but he continued to write in various journals about magical and supposedly mythical creatures. He didn't care that he was ignored by most of the scholarly world, because at the end of day, he told himself, he enjoyed what he was doing. Then came the day when he had met one Harry Potter. A person who he had assumed was as mythical as some of the creatures he studied. Oh, he knew the name from when he was still a part of the magical society in America. The war against the Dark Lord in England made news back in the states, but since he had left the magical world when he went into academia, he had not kept up with the times, as it were, choosing to live among muggles in England. There had been some difficult times in parts of England and Scotland, but little details of the most recent war ever made it to the muggle press. So, as it was, having a certain young man show up into his office at Pembroke College claiming to be the embodiment of the mythical tales of England's magical world from two decades ago, his curiosity was piqued. And now, Professor Smith found himself in the midst of a new academic adventure, trying to find evidence of writings of Merlin himself. The professor thought to himself, "Damn, I love this job." The only problem he had right now was how to arrange a meeting between himself, the young Harry Potter, and Gregory Bradford Shaw, the current professor of Old English here at Pembroke College, and he wondered if the man could actually be of any help at all.

* * *

Harry had left the college to return to his home, Potter Manor, which the goblins had recently opened up for him. Harry had enjoyed his time with Professor Smith, and when they left for the day, the professor indicated that he would need to contact his fellow faculty member, Professor Shaw, and then they would hopefully be able to proceed from there.

Harry arrived home at the Potter Manor. He was impressed with how they had already done so much in preparing the old family home for his arrival. There was no musty smell; there was no dust or cobwebs. It was impossible to tell that no one had lived here since Harry was an infant and his parents had decided to move to their home on Godrics Hollow. Harry went to his office — or what had been the office for his grandfather, Charlus Potter, who had many of his personal effects still in the room. Harry sat down and began to review the notes which the goblins had made for him. He had been to Gringotts earlier that day….

Harry walked into Gringotts, still wearing his wide-brimmed hat to cover the scar on his forehead. As he walked in to the lobby, one of the goblin tellers looked up from his desk and immediately signalled for one of the guards. The goblin guard then approached Harry and stopped in front of him and bowed. Harry bowed slightly in return.

The goblin spoke softly, "If you would follow me, I will take you to your appointed meeting with the most venerable Ragnok." He did not wait for a response as he turned on his heals and started walking off into the bank. The doors into the main part of the bank opened silently as they approached, with Harry a step behind the much shorter goblin. They turned and headed towards what appeared to be an ornately carved stone mural on the wall. The goblin paused briefly in front of the wall, tapped his battle-axe three times on the floor, and then he proceeded to walk through the wall after there was a slight glimmer. Harry followed his escort through the enchanted portal and into a dimly lit corridor. After walking for over a minute, they arrived at a heavy stone door with inscriptions in goblin runes. The guard nodded to Harry and then turned to leave. Harry faced the door, waited for a few seconds, and then he heard the sound of the heavy stone opening into the room. Harry walked into the ornately decorated chamber, in the rear of the room sitting behind a large and ornate desk was the goblin chieftain and director of the Gringotts Bank, London branch.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," greeted Ragnok, with a toothy smile.

"Good afternoon, Director Ragnok," replied Harry.

"Enough with the formalities," scoffed Ragnok. "Have a seat my friend, and we will catch each other up. "First, what news do you have on the status of your mission?"

Harry thought out his words carefully, before he responded. "I am making progress in finding a possible solution to your, or should I say, our, problem. It will still take some time to gather the information, and once I have that, then it will take time to prepare for the carrying out of the deed. I suspect that I will need to procure some items to make this all possible, but as of now, all I have is a lead on some information. Thanks to the original lead you directed me towards at Pembroke College."

Ragnok nodded his head in understanding. "Then you are on your way to being released from your, shall we say, obligations."

Harry held back a shiver at the site of the goblin leader grinning at him again.

Ragnok then continued, "So, I take it you have found your accommodations, how would you say it? Acceptable? My apologies for the small number of house elves which we were able to procure for your services, quality elves are not easily obtained these days."

Harry nodded to indicate that they have been quite satisfactory.

"It may take some time to ready the other properties," Ragnok commented. "The sale of the Grimmauld Place property has encountered some, shall we say, complications. The disposal of dark objects must be seen to before the Ministry of Magic can be contacted as they will want to be able to inspect the home before a sale is completed. That portrait of Walburga Black is proving to be a most difficult item to deal with. But we shall have it out of the home soon, even if we have to rebuild part of the house." He paused as he registered Harry's reaction. "No, there will not be any extra fees related to the disposal of the portrait, the workers have grown to detest her so much, in addition to the challenge they now have in finding away to remove of the accursed portrait, they are asking for no additional wages for the job at hand."

Harry couldn't refrain from laughing at the idea of the goblins actually being willing to forgo extra pay due to either their anger or the challenge of the job before them.

Ragnok was ready to dismiss Harry, but then Harry spoke up. "Director, could I trouble you for some information on the status of a particular business?"

"One of yours?" asked Ragnok with a little surprise.

"No, I am sure that under the excellent guidance of you and the rest of my goblin advisors that they are doing quite well, may your gold continue to flow freely," added Harry to make it clear that he had nothing but respect for the goblin. "There is a business which I have become aware of, one that may be not performing to the standards which you and I would have for investments for my family."

"As you are quite well aware, the goblin nation currently controls the Potter Family Investments," reminded Ragnok, "so why would we take interest in a business that was not meeting our standards, or for that matter, even your standards?"

"I believe that the business has potential, that it can be successful, but may need a little, shall we say assistance," concluded Harry.

"Very well, we shall look into this for you," smiled Ragnok. He understood that a business that is not performing well, but has potential could be a very worthy investment.

"Thank you Director Ragnok," continued Harry. "The business is Greengrass Imports. Could you provide with me with the publicly available financials and perhaps we could discuss ways to strengthen the potential of this company in the future."

"As you wish, Mr. Potter," replied Ragnok. He then made some motions under his desk, and a door behind him to the left opened up and another goblin entered quietly. Ragnok spoke to him in gobbledygook under his breath and the goblin messenger left. Ragnok turned to speak to Harry, "The information which you have requested will be available to you in the lobby as you leave. Good day Mr. Potter."

Harry bowed his head as he responded, "Good day, director."

Harry stood up and walked towards the door he had entered as the large stone portal opened silently.

"Potter Manor." Daphne was hesitant to say the words, but as the flames in her fireplace flared with a green glow, she stepped into those flames and out into the fabled mansion. She was unsure of what to expect, the word grandeur had been crossing her mind all day in anticipation of the evening she was to spend with Harry. And now she opened her eyes and she found herself facing a large white curtain.

"Bloody hell Potter!" she exclaimed. "What is this?"

Harry stepped out from behind the curtain with a large grin. "Just part of the surprise," he said as he walked up to her and stood beside her. "I thought you might be looking forward to seeing my family home, perhaps as much as I have been. So far, I have personally seen very little of the manor. After landing on my face last night, making such a graceful entrance for my house elves, I decided to leave the grand tour until tonight, with you."

She punched him the shoulder. "You prat. You didn't have to do that."

"No, but I thought it would be more fun this way. Actually, I have been to the study, the kitchen and the master bedroom, other than landing here in the sitting room." Harry then called for his house elves. "I believe that you, Mal, are the captain here. Shall we begin?"

The house elf whom Harry had spoken to stepped forward. He bowed before Harry and Daphne and his large bat like ears flapped into his face. Daphne nodded her head in return to be polite. Then Mal turned and with a wave of his arm the curtains disappeared. Daphne gasped at the size of the sitting room. The furniture was gorgeous and looked positively comfortable. She looked forward to being able to relax and sit reading a nice long book in this room. Then she mentally chided herself for thinking such things. Why would she ever have such an opportunity, she asked herself, as she was probably doomed to spending the rest of her days with Draco Malfoy.

The tour was brief, considering the size of the building. They toured the ballroom, the parlour, the foyer. There were a series of guest rooms on the first floor in addition to the kitchen, the formal dining room, and the smaller dining area for more simple occasions.

The upstairs housed the master bedroom, the study and multiple family bedrooms. There was even a large room that seemed more like a pub to Harry and Daphne. Mal pointed out the working bar on one side, and the billiards table that was in the centre. Mal went on to explain that there were some other equipment that at one point had been in the room, something that was called a foosball table in addition to the dart board. The house elves had not restored those items yet, and Mal assured Harry that they would be ready shortly.

Once the whirlwind tour was over they returned to the dining room. Mal was about to seat them in the formal dining room, but Harry requested that they take their meal in the smaller more intimate and more relaxed room.

"Your home is amazing," commented Daphne as they began to dine on the first course brought out by the elves.

"Thank you," said Harry. "I am not sure what to do with all of the space. Mal assures me that the gardens will be put into order by the end of spring. Apparently the grounds are extensive. There has not been anyone living here since before…" Harry paused as he was slightly choked up. "Since the time my parents went into hiding."

The chatted idly over the next few courses. As they were finishing dessert, Harry and Daphne returned to the rather large sitting room. Harry looked Daphne in the eye as he spoke softly but clearly. "I need to ask you some rather personal things," he said.

Daphne was not expecting such a forward statement, and she was unsure of just what Harry meant. "Well, OK, I guess. What sort of personal things?"

"I was looking into some of the things you mentioned last night," he said simply.

"Which things?" asked Daphne, starting to feel a little worried.

"Greengrass Imports," stated Harry.

She raised an eyebrow in response, she did not speak, but she visibly stiffened.

"The import business appears to have been in a steady downward spiral for the past nearly twenty years." Harry let his words sink in slowly. "However, there are similar muggle businesses that have done well over the same period of time. There are some discrepancies in the ledgers dating back more than thirty years ago. At the same time, Greengrass Imports was much more successful."

"What are you implying, Harry?" asked a now obviously irritated Daphne.

"I am implying, nothing. At least not yet," answered Harry. "There could be many reasons for this situation, and obviously the reasons are not particularly concerning to the goblins for the past thirty or more years. But I have to ask, and I have to know for sure."

"What do you have to ask?" asked Daphne, feeling very defensive now.

"Why me? Why come to me about this? Is this the real reason you came to see me at the pub? A potential white knight for the family business?" Harry spoke without any hint of emotion in his voice.

Daphne wanted to scream at him, but she managed to put in place her mask of indifference. "What would ever make you think that, Potter?" she demanded, with the ice nearly dripping off of her words.

"Several things," answered Harry, trying to ignore the sting in her tone. "First, you are from the house of Slytherin, the house of cunning. It is clear you would have the skill and ability to do this, to manipulate me purely for those reasons."

She felt something new, hurt and betrayal from someone. She had never let another person get close enough to do that to her, and how she was starting to truly feel anger towards Harry. "You actually believe that I would do that to you?" She fought back the tears that started to well up in her eyes.

"Could you do that? Or would you do that? Those are two very different questions, and I hope they have very different answers." Before Daphne could respond, Harry continued his response. "Before you get all indignant with me for my asking this question, I need you to think it through from my point of view."

Daphne sneered, "And just how is this all about you?" Her emotions were wreaking havoc with her. She was feeling angry and confused.

"Trust." Harry said that one word and let it hang out there for a minute before he continued. "I need to know that I can trust you. I learned over the years that I cannot trust the Ministry of Magic, who attacked me in the press after my fourth year, sent dementors after me before my fifth year and allowed Umbridge to terrorise my life throughout our fifth year. Despite all he claimed to try and do for me and for 'the greater good', when it came to my personal life, I could not trust Dumbledore, the man who violated my parents' wills to place me with my aunt and uncle as a child, and this hid me from the magical world. I could not trust Ron, who was supposed to be my best mate. He abandoned me during my fourth year and again during the year we were on the run fighting against Riddle and his Death Eaters. Heck, the Weasley Family, or at least the ones who tried to give me a love potion to be with Ginny. I learned I could not even trust the instructors at the Auror Training School…" Harry paused as he felt exhausted laying out the litany of all of those whom he felt had betrayed him.

Daphne's expression softened. She had heard most of Harry's history, and she had learned from him about how he had been treated since the day he returned to the magical world and he entered Hogwarts. She could start to understand his doubts about her.

She then looked up at him, letting her anger go, as she asked him, "Why? Why would you even tell me all of this? Why bring this all up? Harry, I honestly had no great plan or scheme when I met you that evening at the pub. I had no ulterior motive, other than I saw something in you that I felt in myself. Loneliness. I know what people said about me when we were at school. I definitely know what people said about you at school. I realised that maybe there was more to each of us then what people talked about. So I wanted to get to know you, not the Boy-Who-Lived, but Harry. And you know what, I really like that guy. Not because of the scar. Not because of the fame. Not because of the good looks. Wait, that does help," she added with a laugh as she brushed away tears.

Harry blushed at her last admission. "Daphne, I had to be completely honest with you. Maybe because of my insecurities I don't trust people very well, or maybe I'm worried I trusted too many people before. But I believe you. And I do want to help, the family business that is. But more importantly I want to strengthen my friendship with you. So, I had to bring up my fears." Harry let the words dangle out there. He felt ashamed for even questioning her motives. He felt worse for getting her so upset. He heard Ron's voice in his head tell him, "You can't trust her mate! She's a snake, she always will be. She must be out to get you somehow. They're all evil Death Eaters in Slytherin!" Harry shut that voice off in his head, as it convinced him that he did need to trust Daphne.

"Well, then," he began to speak to her again, "where does this leave us? Where do we go from here?"

Daphne had calmed herself down, and she could feel that Harry was being sincere, and just wanting to be open with her, even with his own fears. "How about we start again?" she asked with a smile, which helped to soften the puffy look in her eyes from her crying.

Harry looked at her and smiled back as he said, "Okay."

Daphne stood up and walked over to him, held her hand as she spoke, "Hello, my name is Daphne Greengrass, I'm pleased to meet you."

Harry stood up and shook her hand, as he answered, "Pleased to meet you, I'm Harry Potter."

Then in a fit of emotion that he was surprised that over came him and he was not sure where it came from, he pulled her closer to him with his hand in hers and he kissed her on the cheek. Or he planned to kiss her on the cheek. But then their lips met. Softly at first, and then the kiss became harder and more passionate as they embraced.

* * *

Australia, Ministry of Magic, Sydney

Department of Magical Creatures

"Her you go," said the young man as he walked into the office of his supervisor and handed her a pile of papers, "these are the forms of the most recent complaints of reported drop bear attacks."

The young woman didn't even look up at the man as she reached out her hand to accept the stack of papers.

The young man handed her another paper. "It seems someone still claims there is a family of griffins reportedly in the MacDonnell range in the Northern territory."

The woman looked up, her brown eyes sparkled. "Is their any truth to these stories, or is this propaganda for the Quibbler?"

"The what?" asked the surprised aide.

"Never mind," she answered. "It's just a newspaper from back home that would love to publish such a story as this."

"From back in Italy, Ms. Contadina?" asked the young man.

"Not exactly," she answered with a smile. "I'll have a look at it. Do we have any corroborating evidence about the griffins?"

"Not that I know of ," answered the young man.

She pushed her hair back behind her head as she looked at the young man. "You know, Tom," she said, "I am probably only a couple of years older than you at most. You don't have to call me by my last name. You can call me Gianna."

Tom answered shyly, "Sure, whatever you say, Ms. Contadina."

* * *

Harry Potter woke in his room in the Potter Mansion. He had not gotten to bed early the night before. He had a huge smile on his face as he remembered the events of last night. He had a girlfriend. He had an absolutely gorgeous girlfriend. He had kissed her after they had what amounted to an argument of sorts. But they both had work to do today, and so he escorted her back to her flat via the floo, and he promptly fell on his face again. This then led to some more snogging. They eventually left it at that as he had to leave, to return back to his home.

Then his thoughts turned sour. He had an absolutely gorgeous girlfriend who was supposed to marry someone else, namely his rival and general thorn in his side throughout his time at Hogwarts. Either that or her younger sister would have to marry the ferret. Why is my life always so screwed up, he asked himself.

His silent musings were interrupted by a pop as his house elf, Hoban, appeared next to him.

"Your breakfast is ready for you, most kind master Harry sir," sang the elf who seemed as happy to serve him as Dobby ever had.

"Great, I'll be down in just a moment," answered Harry as he sat himself up in bed.

"But Master Harry, sir," protested the elf, "Youse needs to be ready for your meetings today. You have an appointment this morning at the Pembroke College and an appointment later today with a Mr. Greengrass."

"Thank you Hoban," smiled Harry, "but I have not forgotten any of those meetings."

"But Master Harry, sir," continued the elf plaintively, "Youse just received an owl from Gringotts, the bank wants you to stop by before your meeting this afternoon with Lord Greengrass."

Harry smiled again, "As I suspected they might. Thank you, again, Hoban, but I really need to shower and get dressed before I head down for breakfast."

"Should I wake Master Harry Sir earlier in the morning tomorrow, then Sir?" asked the elf, hoping he was not in trouble.

Harry noted his concern, and then he leaned towards the diminutive elf as he explained, "You do not need to worry about that. If I over sleep for a meeting I need to attend, that is my problem, not yours. If I ask that you or one of the elves make sure I am awake by a specific time, then that will only apply to that day. Thank you for your concern. I will be down shortly."

Harry arrived at Pembroke College, where dressed in his dragon hide cloak and his wide-brimmed hat, many of the students on the campus just assumed he was some exchange student from the United States working out his own issues and expressing himself in his own unique way. He quickly found his way to the hall where Professor Rawling Smith had his office. Harry knocked on the door, and was quickly greeted by the tall man with the thing but greying beard.

"Ah, Harry," said the professor, "I am glad you could stop by today. I have made an appointment for us to meet with Professor Shaw next Monday morning at ten in the morning. His classes will be concluded until the end of the winter break. I mentioned that we need to do some research on the usage of Old English and the tales of Merlin and Arthur. He initially balked at the idea, but I managed to persuade him to meet with us anyway."

Harry smiled, "Well then, if our research must wait until we meet with him again, then I will beg your pardon as I get to work on other important matters." With a quick handshake, Harry tipped his hat and then left the office. The professor thought he caught a glimpse of the tell-tale scar before the hat was placed back on Harry;s head, and then he heard a slight pop in the hallway. Rawling Smith stepped into the hall to have a look, and was surprised to find that the hall was empty, and there was no sign of Harry.

Harry walked into the lobby of Gringotts, and once again he was greeted by a silent goblin guard who ushered him down the hidden corridor to Ragnok's office. Upon arriving at the massive stone door, Harry was startled by the complete lack of movement by the granite edifice. The guard turned to look at Harry and seemed just as perplexed as his charge. Suddenly they heard footsteps running up from behind them. A young goblin arrived with a small satchel.

"Mister Potter," called out the young goblin, "his excellency, the Director of Gringotts London Branch, begs your pardon as he could not keep the scheduled meeting with you today. But he prepared the following documents for you in response to your questions."

The satchel was offered to Harry. Before he could open the satchel the goblin messenger added, "Sir, Director Ragnok advised that you may wish to use one of our private counsel rooms for a more personal setting to take the time to review the enclosed information."

Harry turned to his guard and escort and gave a slight nod to respectfully dismiss him as his services were no longer required. Then he turned back to face the messenger, "Very well, lead on my young friend."

The messenger goblin gave a surprised look at Harry and then he smiled. The smile of the young goblin was still quite disconcerting to Harry. "Of course, Mr. Potter, just follow me."

Harry sat down in what would have been viewed as quite a nice conference room in a muggle business. Mahogany tables and chairs, and a simple diffuse lighting that made the room feel quite comfortable. Not exactly typical of goblin interior decorating, but then Harry surmised that they probably used this room to make the human customers feel more relaxed. Harry opened the satchel and he reviewed the enclosed documents. He smiled as he read the numbers and the conclusions made by his goblin financial advisors.

* * *

Harry arrived on the edge of a simple street. The road was empty and there were many large trees around. Harry could see between the trees and noted that the wide open spaces were well cared for. He imagined what the place would look like if it were spring, with flowers blooming, or in the summer with the trees covered in leaves and the open fields green and welcoming. Harry looked to his left and then to his right, and he noted up the road there was a large gate. Harry walked up to the entryway to the manor, and he noted the large styled G in the middle of the gate. He walked up to the iron gate, and placed his hand on the middle of the G. He felt a brief pulse of magic shoot through his hand, and then the gate slowly began to open. As he crossed on to the driveway leading up to the manor, he could feel the presence of wards wash over him. Whatever they were detecting and preventing from entering apparently did not include him.

When Harry had nearly arrived at the large manor house, he noted that the Tudor style building was nearly as large as his own family home. He glanced around the property and he felt that it clearly had not had the upkeep that he would have expected from a Noble and Ancient House, but he also now knew quite well what sort of financial situation the Greengrass family faced themselves with. Harry walked up to the main door, and before he could even knock, the door swung open slowly, to reveal and large foyer with a small house elf standing there to greet him.

"Harry Potter," he said introducing himself to the house elf, "I have an appointment with Lord Greengrass."

The house elf gazed at Harry through half closed eyes, which gave him an almost sinister look. "Yes, of course you do. You are expected. You may follow me to the study." And without a further word, the house elf turned and started to walk down the hall to the left. The house elf waved his hand and the door opened after Harry heard a slight knocking sound. The house elf kept a curious eye on Harry as he walked in to meet with Lord Greengrass.

Harry scanned the room quickly and then he greeted the man sitting at his desk, apparently concentrating on his journals and ledgers. "Thank you, Lord Greengrass, for agreeing to meet with me," said Harry softly, so as not to come across as rude or arrogant. There was no reply. Harry stood quietly resting his hands at his side as he awaited some sort of response.

He waited for over a minute before Daphne's father looked up. He put down the quill he had been writing with and he stood up to shake Harry's hand. "Good afternoon, Lord Potter," said the man who was easily over six inches taller than Harry, "I am glad to finally make your personal acquaintance."

Harry shook his hand and then politely corrected him. "It is Mister Potter, milord, not Lord Potter. As you have a seat on the Wizengamut I would have presumed that you would have known that I have not yet taken up my titles."

Jonathan Greengrass eyed the young man in front of him very carefully, trying to gauge if the comment was meant merely to inform or to insult his own knowledge of the facts. He quickly decided to assume the former as this powerful young man was the one to request this meeting. "That is quite right, Harry," he said. "May I call you Harry?"

"But of course milord," answered Harry trying to be as respectful as possible.

Lord Greengrass gestured to a chair behind where they were standing, "Please, take a seat, as we get to the business at hand."

Harry nodded and took the offered seat, and the father of his girlfriend took a seat opposite from him. Harry wondered if Daphne had told her parents of their budding relationship, or even their friendship. Then he wondered if she had if that would have any effect on the negotiations he was about to begin.

"So, Harry, I understand that you were a classmate of my daughter while she was attending Hogwarts," commented the large man.

Harry was beginning to feel more than a little intimidated at this point, as Harry acknowledged that it was true, they had been in classes together.

"I take it that you two did not know each other while you were students, then," continued Daphne's father.

Harry wondered where this conversation was leading. "No sir, we barely had any contact with each other. We were in different houses, sir."

"I am well aware of what houses you both were in," commented Jonathan, and sounding perhaps a bit more stern that he had intended. Harry was worried if they were going to begin discussing his relationship with his daughter, until his host changed the subject again. "So, as you are the one who requested this meeting, my young man, what would you like to discuss?"

Harry pulled up the satchel that was hanging at his side as he began to speak slowly and clearly to the man in front of him. "I have been reviewing some documents, business documents, which pertain to your import business." Harry mentally chided himself for starting to sound too repetitive. "I have become aware that the current state of your family business is not where you had previously been and is not where you would like it to be."

"Whether that be the truth, or not," replied Jonathan, "that may remain to be seen, but I am at a loss as to why this would concern you."

"While I may not have taken up my titles, I do have a fair amount of control in my family's financial interests. My family, as you are no doubt well aware, has several business which we either outright own or are major stake holders in, and these businesses are quite busy with imports and exports, depending on their respective markets and fields. I would like to see some more stability in their ability to meet their needs. A stable inventory and a stable supplier would only boost my companies' productivity and thus my bottom line. If we were able to establish a mutually beneficial arrangement, including exclusive import rights for certain items in addition to exclusive opportunities to negotiate further r such arrangements, I do believe that both Greengrass Imports and the Potter Estate would be more than happy with the results."

"I am waiting to hear your catch, Mr. Potter," said Lord Greengrass with a grin. "You may have been in Gryffindor, which would give you the boldness to come into my home and make such an offer, but you might as well have been in Slytherin to have such cunning as to make this offer. There must be a catch to this somewhere."

"There is no catch, I merely became aware of the financial condition of a family business of a Noble and Ancient House, and I realised that my own family business had the means to rectify any financial difficulties which Greengrass Imports may be facing."

"This is because of my daughter, is it not?" asked Jonathan as he was unable to hide his irritation at the thought.

"No sir, it is not," said Harry, maintaining his emotionless response. "In fact, she has no idea that I am even meeting with you today."

Daphne's father leaned back in his chair and reappraised the young man in front of him. "You, my son, are an enigma. You are just twenty years old, contact me for a business meeting, tell me that you have put off taking your rightful titles, and claim that this meeting has nothing to do with whatever relationship it is that you have with my daughter. And to top it all off, you just happen to be the most recognisable young man in the magical world. I suppose I should thank you for your part in defeating the Dark Lord a couple of years ago, and despite what many might think of me and my family, I truly am thankful for that. Yet, there is something here that just does not add up." His eyes burrowed into Harry's with such an intensity that it made Harry feel quite uncomfortable. Jonathan continued, "A man I once knew when I was still in school once said 'They key to life is sincerity, and once you learn how to fake that, then you have it made.' But I do not sense any deception from you."

Harry sat silently as he awaited Lord Greengrass' analysis. He had learned from the goblins that Lord Greengrass was very thorough when he evaluated any business deal, and that would include sizing up potential business partners. So far, it was clear that the information that Harry had received about Lord Greengrass was absolutely correct, although that did not make this experience any less unpleasant for Harry.

Finally the man broke his gaze from Harry. "Tell me, young man," he asked pointedly, "just why is it that you have chosen to put off taking up your title as Lord Potter, or even your title as Lord Black. Yes, I know that you are heir to both families."

Harry hesitated for only a moment, let out a barely perceptible sigh, and then he answered. "I have certain obligations to others at this time in my life. It would be inappropriate at best, and perhaps treasonous if I were to take claim to those titles when anyone could lay any claim to me. If that were to happen, any decision I would make publicly, any opinion I would offer in the Wizengamut would be suspect. Even if I were to eventually remove any obligations after I had claimed my titles, my every move would be suspect. It seems better to me that I wait until I can claim my heritage without any potential for perceived influence from outside forces. Would you not agree, Lord Greengrass?" Harry turned the situation around by asking his inquisitor to evaluate Harry's personal decision on the matter.

Initially taken aback by the manner in which Harry responded so directly, Greengrass hesitated for a moment before he answered the question. "It would seem that you do possess wisdom beyond your years, young man," admitted Jonathan. He now reassessed the situation in front of him, as it was clear that young Harry was not about to be intimidated, that he did possess a certain confidence and wisdom in addition to being fully prepared to engage in a battle of the wills with him. Clearly, he thought to himself, this was a young man to have as an ally. "So, my friend, what is your business offer, exactly?"

Harry initially felt it odd that he was asked this question after he had already explained what he was offering. He decided he would need to be blunt and bold. "Very well, I will restate the offer to you. It is apparent that without some direct intervention from outside forces, or some unforeseen miraculous change in the business climate, that within the next 5 years, 10 at the absolute maximum, Greengrass Imports will face bankruptcy. What I offer is that Greengrass Imports become the agent of importing all services and goods for any business associated with the Potter Estate. Exclusive rights. In addition, you will be allowed to maintain any and all current business clients as your own. It is clear that prior to the first war with Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters, you had a thriving business, and some of it quite frankly dealt in dark items. Pretty much everyone looked the other way, including the ministry. I am not here to judge those previous practices. But in the current economic reality where such traffic would be frowned upon at best, such lucrative support for your enterprise is no longer a feasible option. I offer a sound economic future for Greengrass Imports and in turn, the Noble and Ancient House of Greengrass."

"Well, there you have it," surmised Lord Greengrass, whose voice took on a much more sombre tone as he continued, "but what I still need to know, is just what exactly to you, Harry Potter, get out of this deal?"

"What do I get?" Harry rephrased the question, "I get a business plan that stabilises the needs of many companies which my family controls, that is assuming that Greengrass Imports is up for the challenge. And you must know that my advisors have thoroughly researched your capability to do this and that I would not be here if we did not feel it would be financially advantageous to all parties involved. I also gain an ally. Not one who is bought, but one who I can trust to speak openly and honestly when needed. I will not tell you how to run your business. You will need to do so without any influence from myself, but you will need to run your business successfully. Both of our futures will ultimately rely upon this." Harry pulled a large envelope out of the satchel and handed it to Lord Greengrass. "Here is the contract offer making Greengrass Imports the sole importer for all Potter Estate companies and interests. Review it with your own advisors. Return it to my account manager at Gringotts when you are ready to sign. Until then, Lord Greengrass, I bid you farewell and I eagerly await your reply." With that Harry stood up to leave.

Jonathan took the envelope and placed it on the middle of his desk. He turned back to shake Harry's hand, but the young man was already at the door. Harry simply said, "I believe I can find my way out," and with that the young wizard left the Lord Greengrass alone in his study to consider all that had just transpired.

Harry left the manor, and made his way to the large iron gate and walked down the road to a point far enough away from the wards so that it would be safe to apparate. As he was approaching the place where he had appeared on his way to meet with Lord Greengrass, he noted another man walking up the road towards him, apparently on his way to the Greengrass Estate. Harry thought he recognised the person walking towards him. The tall blonde young man did not however, have his typical sneer on his face.

"Potter," acknowledged the young man as he approached Harry.

"Malfoy," replied Harry. "What brings you to the Greengrass Estate?"

* * *

**AN: This will be continued….**_**Obviously**_**….**


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: from the last chapter:**_

_Harry left the manor, and made his way to the large iron gate and walked down the road to a point far enough away from the wards so that it would be safe to apparate. As he was approaching the place where he had appeared on his way to meet with Lord Greengrass, he noted another man walking up the road towards him, apparently on his way to the Greengrass Estate. Harry thought he recognised the person walking towards him. The tall blonde young man did not however, have his typical sneer on his face._

"_Potter," acknowledged the young man as he approached Harry._

"_Malfoy," replied Harry. "What brings you to the Greengrass Estate?"_

"I am here on personal business with the family," commented Draco, who seemed irritated by Harry's question. "I could ask you the same thing, you know. I did not realise that you had any contact with anyone who had anything to do with my house in school."

Harry was surprised at first that Draco's words were merely a statement, as he was reciting simple fact, as opposed to being laced with either sarcasm, bile or just plain superiority and indignation as he seemed to always do during almost every previous conversation the two had shared in the past.

"Times change, circumstances change," answered Harry. "The world you knew growing up no longer exists, Draco."

Draco eyed Harry thoughtfully. "Yes, those things have changed," replied the thin blonde without any of his previous arrogance, "and apparently most of that change is to be credited to you or blamed on you."

His facial features seemed to have softened since the end of the war thought Harry as he tried to gauge which way Malfoy leaned, towards giving Harry credit or blame. There was a palpable tension in the air as the two young men stared each other down.

Finally it was Draco Malfoy who spoke. "I have no quarrel with you today, Potter, so I best be on my way for my scheduled appointment."

Harry, however, continued to stand between Draco and the entry gate to the Greengrass Manor. "Before you make your appearance," Harry spoke in a calm tone, "would you care to tell me what you have been up to the end of the war?"

Draco started to sneer, but then his expression softened. "What, is it your turn to gloat now, Potter? You already know that you ruined my family. There was no way for my father to escape Azkaban after the war. My family's fortune had been ruined, in large part to you, and I am sure you are aware of that fact as well. So I have been working on ways to rebuild my family's wealth, repair my families reputation, and prepare for my future. Not all of us have had our lives handed to us, Potter."

Harry scoffed. "There was a time where everything in your life was handed to you, Draco." Harry's tone was gentle, not critical or scathing. "And nothing has ever been handed to me, besides grief, misery and pain. I never asked for the things that came my way. But I managed to survive. Just as you have managed so far."

The young Malfoy eyed Harry carefully. He detected no malice in Harry's words. He hesitated for a moment as he appeared to Harry to be lost in thought. Then finally Draco spoke again. "I do believe that I owe you a life debt Potter."

Harry blinked as he could hardly believe his ears. He stared at Draco, dumbfounded. Not in the statement itself, for Harry knew that this might be the case on account of rescuing his nemesis from the Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement.

"Don't tell me that you already forgot your pulling me out of the Room of Requirement on that broom when the Fiendfyre was destroying everything? Just before you ended up defeating Volde….the Dark Lord." Draco could not bring himself to state the name of the foul excuse for a wizard that Draco still regretted every getting caught up with.

"No, I do not forget it at all," replied Harry. "I was just surprised that you mentioned it."

"I do not appreciate being indebted to anyone, for any reason," commented Malfoy, "particularly you, of all people, Scarhead."

Again, Harry noted that the comment was devoid of Malfoy's typical vicious spite. Harry tried to keep his response to Draco as polite as possible as he said, "I did not pull you out of that room to force you to be in my debt. I did it because it was the right thing to do."

Draco stared into Harry's eyes as he stopped himself from making a snide comment about Harry being noble and saving people. Then he quietly added, "Thank you, Potter, for saving my life."

Harry had to work to stop is jaw from dropping. He ran the words through his mind quickly several times. He could scarcely believe that Draco Malfoy had actually thanked him for something, and it was a sincere statement. "Well, you're welcome, Draco," said Harry, who then continued, "You just might find that there are people who actually do things for others without expecting something in return." Harry wondered if he just might be pushing things a little too far at this point.

"I think you trust people too much, Potter," came the simple response from Draco.

"And you should learn to trust others, and not try to manipulate them so much," added Harry.

The two young men just stared at each other in silence for a minute. Then Draco spoke once again, "And my mother wanted to thank you for reassuring her about me, after….after….you know had tried to kill you…." Draco's words seemed to die on the tip of his tongue.

Harry knew that this could not be easy for his former rival. Harry nodded his head as he acknowledged Draco's words. Then Draco started to walk past Harry again as he headed for the gate. Harry turned and watched him walk away, and then he called after him.

"Draco, you can tell your mother she is welcome," he said, and then Harry added, "And thank her for what she did for me."

Draco gave him a puzzled look. Harry simply stated, "I think she will know exactly what I mean."

Draco gave Harry a slight nod and turned and continued on his way. Harry followed him with his eyes, amazed at the simple but startling conversation he had with his former adversary. Harry assumed that Draco was going to talk to Jonathan Greengrass about the marriage contract, but he knew there was nothing that he could do about that now. He knew there was nothing he could say to Draco about it as Harry should not have had any knowledge of the situation, and no one knew of his budding relationship with Daphne. Harry headed to the apparition point to return to his home, as he silently prayed that he was not about to lose his chance at his future happiness.

Harry arrived at the Potter Manor and returned to his study. Mal popped into the room and handed him an envelope. Harry looked at his senior house elf and asked, "What is this?"

Mal had a puzzled look on his face. "That is an envelope sir. They tend to hold letters."

Harry shook his head as he smiled at the simple answer, "I see that," he said with a laugh, "but what is in the envelope?"

"Oh," replied the elf, "it is an invitation."

Harry concluded that the elf was not going to be more forthcoming, so he took the envelope and opened it, revealing an invitation for a New Year's Eve party at Neville Longbottom's home. Harry smiled.

* * *

Daphne was sitting in her flat when she received the owl from her sister. She was beside herself as she read that their father was about to meet with Draco Malfoy to discuss the open marriage contract. She feared that either he relationship with Harry was about to be at an end, or that her sister would be forced to spend her life with the former Prince of Slytherin. Daphne sat on her bed and cried into the letter.

* * *

Jonathan Greengrass sat behind his desk, he did not even stand up to welcome the young Malfoy into his office. He did not offer to shake the young man's hand. He simply indicated with a nod of his head that blonde young man could take the seat in front of him.

Draco felt he was being dismissed before he could even say a word. "I presume that you know why I requested this meeting with you, Lord Greengrass." Draco received no response beyond a cold hard stare. "I am here about the open marriage contract between House Greengrass and House Malfoy."

"Then you presumed correctly," said the large man, with neither a frown nor a smile. The lack of emotion in this man's demeanour disturbed Draco.

"Then you must certainly understand the gravity of the situation." Draco was not surprised that again he received no response, so he continued. "One of your daughters must agree to marry me within the next several years, or they, and I, will lose our magic."

There was a silence in the room. Finally the Lord Greengrass spoke. "I am well aware of the consequences of failing to comply with the contract in question. Do not think that you can educate me on this matter."

Draco waited a further comment from the imposing man sitting across from him, but there was none. He shifted in his seat. He thought to himself that this could be going better, and then he considered that it could also be going worse.

"I take it then that you are not particularly pleased with the options before us," stated Draco.

Jonathan Greengrass refrained from making a sarcastic comment, and decided to limit his response to a simple, "No, I am not."

Draco sighed internally. He considered his conversation he had just had several minutes prior with the young man to whom he owed a life debt. A man who he previously despised but had shown him a glimpse of character that he had not appreciated during the time when they were in school together. He was quickly thinking of how to best present his proposal. "I take it from your tone then, Lord Greengrass, that you do not like me."

"You are brighter than your reputation you developed from your days at Hogwarts would make you appear," replied Jonathan, not hesitating to let his dislike for the young man in front of him show through. "I did not craft this marriage contract, and neither did you, nor your insufferable father." The head of the Greengrass family was emboldened by the timidity with which the young man in front of him presented himself. "I may not like the terms of this contract, but I find that my family must find a way to come to terms with it. And that means coming to terms with you, young man."

Draco was shocked by the anger he was sensing from Lord Greengrass, and he surmised that it must be due to whatever this man had heard about him, which most likely meant that he had heard it from Daphne, his classmate at school.

"The terms of the contract state that I must marry one of your daughters," said Draco cautiously, "and I would take it that the opinion of me from at least one of your daughters is less than flattering."

Jonathan leaned back in his chair as he re-evaluated the young man in front if him. The words 'slow', 'impudent' and 'abrasive' all came to mind.

* * *

Daphne struggled with her emotions. She was ashamed at herself for breaking down in tears. She picked herself up off of her bed and took the letter in her hand and walked out to her fireplace. She wiped her face with her sleeve, and then she tossed some floo powder into the fire in front of her, as it flared green, she spoke two words and stepped forward.

She arrived at her destination and quickly scanned the room. There was no one present. She started to walk towards the hallway that led to the stairs when a house elf appeared next to her. She looked at the small creature and demanded, "Where is he?"

"Master is in his study, miss," squeaked the startled house elf.

"Thank you," Daphne answered with a softer tone. "I can find my way there." She strode up the stairs and don the hall to his study. The door was closed but she burst in anyway. Harry looked up from where he was working behind his desk, and he was surprised to see Daphne. He quickly noted her tear stained face and he jumped up to meet her. Walking up to her he ignored the parchment she held in her hand and he leaned in to kiss her, to comfort her.

Harry was taken aback as Daphne slapped him across the face. Harry was shocked and stared at the woman in front of him with his mouth agape. His eyes showed his surprise as he silently questioned her actions. Daphne continued to cry as she forced the parchment into his chest. "We can't…" she sobbed, "we can't be together. He's making his move."

Harry took the parchment and quickly scanned the letter that Astoria had written to Daphne. Harry's expression was at first unreadable. Daphne watched as he bit his lip, and then he looked at her. He then spoke softly, "I know he is there, I passed him on the road in front of your family's home."

Now Daphne's jaw dropped. "What the bloody hell were you doing there?" she screamed at him. Daphne wasn't sure to feel rage or fear or excitement over what this would mean, but mostly she could not begin to fathom why Harry would have been at her parent's home.

The harshness of her tone caused Harry to take a step back. Before he could begin to speak, she yelled at him again, "Well Potter, explain yourself!"

"I had a meeting with your father," he said simply, hoping his words and his tone would help alleviate the tension.

"What kind of meeting?" she demanded.

"It was a business meeting," answered Harry. "Business, as in between the Potter Estate and Greengrass Imports."

Daphne was about to yell at him again and then she just stared at him silently for a moment. She brushed some more tears from her face as she was trying to internally reconcile his statement. Finally she spoke to him again, with a quieter but still very serious tone as she enunciated each word slowly and carefully. "What did you do, Potter?"

Harry tried to grin, but the seriousness of Daphne's glare at him ended the brief attempt at a smile. "I arranged for a business deal that is mutually beneficial to both the Potters and the Greengrasses. Greengrass Imports is no longer in financial difficulties."

"You bought out my family's business?" she asked with an icy tone. "You had no right to do that!" she yelled at him.

"I did no such thing," replied Harry defensively. "Now calm yourself down and let me explain." Daphne continued to glare at him as she took a seat in front of him. "I made a business arrangement. All companies owned by the Potter Estate will now exclusively only use Greengrass Imports for all import and export transactions."

Daphne's jaw dropped. She stuttered, "But, but, how could you…how could you just do that?"

"Two reasons," said Harry as his smile started to return and he sat back on the edge of his desk. "The first is that after reviewing the financial impact of such a deal with the goblins, it became clear that the initial impact in the short run would increase operating expenses for my businesses while improving the value and profitability of Greengrass Imports, the net result would lead to a stronger financial leverage in the importation market and eventually it would lead to an improved financial situation for my companies due to the improved margins that the import business would then command."

Daphne raised an eyebrow as she studied Harry's face. "Who knew you could be a financial genius?" But before Harry could respond, she continued, "And what was the second reason?"

Harry's expression became a little more unsettled, but he quickly recovered his smile. "Oh, that would have to be you. The chance to make you happy by doing this."

Daphne's eyes sparkled as she considered what Harry had just said. Then her thoughts turned to the parchment that she had shoved at Harry which he had laid down on his desk. She pointed at the letter and her tone became icy again. "And what about that letter? You said you knew Malfoy had gone to meet with my father." Her eyes were trying to cut him down again as she glared at him. "This ruins everything. We might not be able to ever see each other again."

Harry considered her words. Then he tried to calm the situation again. "We both knew that there was little we could do about the marriage contract. We don't know where the discussion which Draco is going to lead." Harry's brow furrowed as he realised his words were not particularly comforting, for as he tried to understand it from Daphne's perspective — she was about to either lose a boyfriend or lose a sister. He then considered her reaction when he tried to greet her with a kiss this afternoon, a move he made as he remembered quite fondly their time snogging the night before. Harry sighed as he knew there would be no way he would allow himself to come between Daphne and her family.

* * *

Draco watched as the man in front of him leaned back into his chair. His silence confirmed what Draco had just voiced, that his potential father-in-law had a fairly low opinion of him. He then broke the silence, "I would also presume that the reason for what appears to be at least a mild dislike for me would be secondary to comments made about me by your eldest daughter."

There was nothing more that a silent stare that bored straight into Draco's soul.

"Right," said Draco as he took a deep breath and then he continued, "well then that seems to pretty much rule out any chance of my marrying Daphne." Internally Draco steadied himself for a verbal attack as he wondered if this announcement that he would be pursuing the younger daughter, Astoria, would only lead to a worsening temper by the Lord Greengrass. He waited silently for some sort of response, but all he received was the continued stare that seemed to be trying to pierce his very core.

"I am not sure that Astoria knows me that well, aside from what she may have heard from her sister," continued Draco. "However, I am determined to find a positive way to make this work, for everyone's benefit." The young Malfoy took a deep breath and then he began to speak. "I for one, do not cherish the thought of possibly losing my magic, and I am quite sure that you and your daughters would feel the same way and would prefer to avoid losing their magic as well. I have come to learn of an old muggle tradition, called courtship, and perhaps this would be the best way to proceed. The wedding does not have to occur for nearly five years from now. If I were to court Astoria, that would require my spending time with her and with her family, as we both would need to get to know each other. I would hope that during that time we might both learn to care for each other. If that were possible, then we could get married before the time that would then require us to lose our magic. Unless of course, if during this time, you were able to find a loophole, short of death, that would allow for this contract to go unfulfilled for this current generation."

Jonathan narrowed his eyes as he considered the proposal from the young man in front of him. He considered that this proposal could possibly work. It might just be possible for the two young people to develop a relationship that could survive getting married. It is also possible that given some more time, there might be found a legal loophole to invalidate the contract, but he was quite sure that would be highly unlikely. Lord Greengrass considered his earlier thoughts, 'slow', 'impudent', and 'abrasive' - as he reexamined his earlier assessment. Perhaps this Malfoy was of stronger character and wit and intelligence than he had given him credit for.

Jonathan's gaze became more gentle, and his face became slightly friendlier. "I will discuss your proposal with my wife and my daughters." He paused for a moment to let his decision sink in with the young man. "We can then discuss this further, after boxing day." Jonathan stood and extended his arm to shake Draco's hand. Just then the door to his office was forced open as Daphne came running in.

Draco and Lord Greengrass both turned at the sound of the door slamming into the wall. There stood before them a tall blonde woman with a tear-stained face. Walking behind her was a raven haired green-eyed young man.

"You can't go through with this!" she shouted at her father.

He gave her a puzzled look. Draco glared at Harry who was standing quietly next to Daphne.

Jonathan was ready to yell at his eldest daughter, but as he glanced at the your man with whom he had been conversing and then over at the other man with whom he had fairly recently concluded some serious business negotiations, then he relaxed as he turned back to his daughter. "I can't go through with what?" he asked. Before she could answer, he added, "The only thing which has been decided is that I shall speak with you and your sister and your mother before having Mr. Malfoy join us for a meal and a discussion some time after boxing day."

Daphne stared at her father, feeling confused and embarrassed. There was a silent tension building in the room. Finally Harry spoke, "It is good to see you again, Draco, I had not expected it to be so soon since we last met."

Draco was startled initially by the comments from Harry. He quickly regained his composure as he answered, "Likewise, Harry." Speaking his former rival's first name like that was an odd sensation for him. Turning to Daphne he added, "I have come to speak with your father about courting your sister, Astoria. I was not aware that the contract had any stipulations that I needed to obtain approval from you."

Harry raised an eyebrow as he studied Draco's face. He did not detect any malice or deceit but merely sincerity, which Harry would have thought was a little odd if not for his encounter with the former self styled prince of Slytherin.

Daphne was shocked and confused. Shocked by his statement that he was there to speak about Astoria, and confused as to what he meant by courting.

Draco noted her confusion and started to explain. "While I believe that none of this is Scarhead's concern, I will endeavour to help the two of you understand. I am aware of the simple fact that this marriage contract may be considered less than ideal by all parties involved, it seems to me that finding the most amicable resolution would be mutually beneficial."

Harry tried to hold back a laugh, and he could not resist saying, "So when did you start channeling Hermione Granger?"

Draco glared at Harry and then continued, trying to ignore the reference to the muggle born witch whom he despised. "I'll try to ignore that comment, Potter. As I was saying, a mutually beneficial resolution, which I would think would include no one having to lose their magic. To that end, I propose a period of time of my getting to know Astoria and her family, and they me."

Daphne assessed the man in front of her, and she understood that he had clearly grown up since their time at Hogwarts together, however she still did not trust him. Daphne opened her mouth to say something, but the words would not come forth.

Finally her father interjected, "I am surprised to say that I find the young Malfoy's plan agreeable, as it seems the most sensible. Well, other than the part of having to explain this to Astoria…" he visibly winced at that thought.

Draco relaxed visibly at the words spoken by the Lord Greengrass. He then turned to Harry, "I am curious, Potter, just why are _you_ here at this time?" As he asked the question, he noted that Daphne's hand had slipped into Harry's.

While Harry tried to come up with the words to respond, Daphne's father eyed the clasped hands between her and Harry and then locked onto Harry's eyes. Then he stated authoritatively, "Perhaps Mister Potter has more to speak to me about." He then quickly looked at Draco and Daphne, and then added, "Would you two mind leaving us for a few minutes?" It was clear from his tone that it was not really a question. Draco and Daphne quickly exited the office, leaving Harry to face Jonathan Greengrass alone.

* * *

Rawling Smith had finally arranged for a meeting with the Professor of Old English Studies at Pembroke College. He was anxious as to how this meeting would go and he wondered if it would have been better to have the young Harry Potter present for the meeting. He walked into the office which was panelled in a rich dark wood about half way from the floor to the ceiling, with a pleasant cream colour covering the walls in between the rest of the wooden trim. Rawling was actually surprised by the size of the office, he had expected it to be larger than it was. He stopped looking around the office when the presence of Professor Shaw sitting behind the grand oak desk caught his attention.

Gregory Bradford Shaw looked every bit the scholar, hair speckled with grey, thick eyebrows, a grey tweed suit. His grey-blue eyes had an intensity that unnerved many students, but had no affect on Rawling Smith.

"Good day, Professor Smith," greeted the Old English Professor. "I was intrigued by your request for a meeting," he continued, "could you explain further your reasons for this discussion?"

"Good day, Professor Shaw," replied Rawling Smith. "As I said in the note I had sent to you, I am needing to do further research with a unique student who ha contacted me with a particular dilemma."

"So you had indicated to me in your note," said Shaw, "however I am not sure just how you think I would be able to help. I am aware of your studies on mystical and mythical creatures, which may be entertaining fiction for the masses, but how does this have anything to me and the study of Old English literature?"

A sparkle in Rawling's eyes shown briefly as he began, "We need some specific information about dragons, information which I believe may only be found in writings which only the Professor of Old English here at Pembroke College would have access to. Information which I believe your predecessor from several decades ago, Tolkien himself, had access to." Rawling was studying his colleague closely and he noted a barely perceptible movement in Gregory's eyes towards the portrait of Professor Tolkien on the wall to his left.

"I am not sure what you are referring to," commented Shaw. Smith could tell he was lying, but he wondered how to get around this obstacle.

"Oh, I think you really do know full well what I am talking about," countered Smith. "You have access to a wealth of literature and writings that no other person has access to, all because of your appointment to your post as professor of Old English. Very few people know about this hidden knowledge, and that is a good thing, as muggles, such as yourself, would mostly be completely unprepared for dealing with the secrets which are hidden in those works." He paused as he watched the reactions of Professor Shaw. The word muggle did seem to register with him.

"I take it you know what a muggle is, as I presume you are one," stated Rawling. Shaw had a slightly shocked look on his face. "And in answer to your unasked question, I am a wizard," continued Smith as he waved his hand slightly and caused a vase of flowers to appear on Professor Shaw's desk. "A simple conjuration, a parlour trick at best, but nonetheless, it is still magic."

The stunned professor stared at the flowers and then back at Smith. Finally he spoke, "Are you trying to threaten me with these theatrics?"

Rawling was taken aback. "Threaten you? Never, I am merely trying to point out that there are things in this world of which you may or may not be aware. However, due to your privileged position on account of the seat you hold here at this college, you are one of the few muggles who is acutely aware of the magical world. And you have access to the writings that are stored within this office."

Shaw eyed Smith more carefully. "Which writings are you particularly interested in," he asked, "and why must you get them from me?"

"The writings of Merlin Ambrosius, also known as Myrddin Emrys. Most of your predecessors believed them to be fictional writings. The magical world entrusted them to the muggles many centuries ago, and they have been kept here, long forgotten by most." He paused to gauge the reaction from his colleague at this news. "You have the ability to help us with translating the important information contained within."

Shaw's eyes narrowed as he puzzled over the statements. "You said, 'us', who do you mean by 'us'?"

Rawling smiled as he answered, "The young man, whom I mentioned. He is a very bright young wizard, he would probably excel if he actually attended this school, however he has more pressing matters which he must attend to than studies here."

"Matters that apparently involve dragons, based on what you have said," commented Shaw. Rawling nodded his head in agreement. "Matters that have been written about by this Merlin, who you claim was a real person," he continued. Again, Rawling nodded. There was a brief silence and then Shaw asked, "Please tell me why I should actually help with this?"

"Because you can," answered Smith as simply as possible. Then he added, "And because it would be the right thing to do, and because you have no good reason to deny us access to this information. If there is no such thing as dragons, then you are only allowing us to delve into older mythology about such creatures and nothing comes of it. If there were or are dragons, then you may be able to assist us in important research."

"I should like to meet this young man, and in the mean time, I will consider my options," stated Professor Shaw. "I am really quite busy, so let's set up an appointment for some time after the New Year."

"Very well, my friend," replied Rawling.

"I have one last question for you today," spoke Shaw, "just how did you learn about the writings of Merlin? How did you learn that they were here?"

Rawling Smith grinned broadly. "Oh, my friend Mister Potter, he learned about this from goblins." With that he turned and left the office.

* * *

Daphne and Harry had arrived back at the Potter Manor. Finally, she could take the suspense no longer and she turned and faced him, her eyes indicating the seriousness of her concerns. "Spill it Potter," she demanded, "just what did you discuss with my father in his office?"

Harry was taken aback by the sheer forcefulness of her stare, let alone her words. "He had just had some questions about our business arrangement." Her eyes were non relenting in their attack on his soul. "I assured him that our business arrangement was in no way intended to manipulate him or you." The stare continued. "I did make it clear that my growing relationship with you may have created an interest in developing the business relationship, but the relationship is most favourable to Greengrass Imports without any control being leveraged by the Potter Estate." Her gaze did not shift or falter. "And he eventually asked me what my intentions were towards his daughter."

Harry shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

"And?" she asked, her tone making it clear that he better be more forthcoming with information.

"And I expressed a desire to get to know his oldest daughter more closely, and that I would like to do so with his permission and his blessing." Harry awaited the response from Daphne.

Daphne's jaw dropped in slight shock from what Harry had told her. "You didn't," she stated in denial of what she had just heard, but she knew that Harry would not have lied to her. She looked Harry in the eye as her demeanour softened, "What did he say to you? How did he answer?"

Harry smiled softly, leaned forward and kissed her on his cheek. "He gave me his blessing."

* * *

**AN: Sorry that this is a shorter chapter, but I have been away on vacation and have not had much time to write. I am still on vacation and the next update may not be until next week. I hope you all continue to enjoy this story. Thanks again for all of the comments, and reviews, and support.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: My next chapter...a little longer than the last one...**

**A/N 2: Thanks to sanbeegoldiewhitey for pointing out an error - my computer did not like the word "obliviating" and changed it on me - but then what self respecting spell checker would like such a word? It has been fixed now...  
**

**A/N3: I do believe I FINALLY have fixed the obligated/obliviated wording once and for all - for this chapter...  
**

* * *

Christmas had finally arrived. Harry was anxious as he was about to head over to Greengrass Manor with Daphne for her family's annual holiday feast. Since he had met with Lord Greengrass the previous week and he had received her father's blessing, Harry and Daphne were officially dating. Harry wondered if their relationship was being looked as something more serious than that by her parents, but he knew that he was not ready to be asking her to marry him. They had only been together as a couple for a matter of weeks and although they were growing closer Harry knew that he would not allow himself to become betrothed until after he felt he was truly a free man. He wondered how long it would take for him to free himself from his servitude to the goblins. As his fondness for Daphne grew, his desire to complete his tasks for the goblins grew as well.

Harry stared at himself in the mirror. He was wearing new clothes that Daphne had helped him select at a fancy clothier Italy. She had chastised him for thinking that Madame Malkin's was the best place to shop for new clothes. They had travelled by port key to the business section of Florence where Daphne had assured him the finest magical tailors were to be found. He had to admit that he did look sharp, but the mess of hair on his head was having nothing to do with Harry's attempt to comb it straight. Nothing surprising there, he thought to himself, and then he considered the idea of letting his hair grow out and holding it back in a pony tail, similar to Bill Weasley had done. While it might help in the future, it was not about to be any help for him now.

There was a slight 'pop' as his senior house elf, Mal, appeared next to him. Harry looked down at the short creature who seemed almost as crazed as he remembered Dobby to be in the past. "Master Harry, sir," exclaimed the elf as his eyes bulged out more than normal and he bounced on the front of this feet, "youse needs to be leaving sir, or youse will be late to your dinner with you Miss Daphne's family, sir."

"I know, I know," replied the exasperated Harry. He reached up with his bare hands and just tried to push his hair in general directions that might actually not make him appear to be too much of a freak. As he looked at himself one last time in the mirror, he was not sure that he had succeeded. "I believe that I am ready to go," he added.

There was another 'pop' as his house elf Hoban appeared, holding a bottle of wine. "Master Harry, sir," he spoke with a voice that was even higher pitched than Mal's, "youse need to remember to take this wine. It is from one of the Potter Estate wineries in France."

Harry sighed as he took the bottle in his hand. He thanked the elves for helping him get ready, and then he walked down stairs to the fire-place in the main hall. He tossed some floo powder in and stepped into the green flames as he spoke the words "Greengrass Manor." Harry just hoped that he would not fall when he arrived and drop the bottle of wine. Much to his surprise, he landed on both of his feet and only stumbled slightly, right into the waiting arms of a beautiful blonde woman who grabbed hold of his shoulders to steady him.

"If I didn't know better, Mr. Potter," quipped Daphne, "I would think that you might be falling for me."

Harry gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he regained his balance, then he replied with a grin, "I used to fall for anyone, anytime I used the floo."

"You are getting better at this," she smiled back, "I haven't seen you land on your arse in some time." With that she held out her arm for him to take hold of to escort her from the parlour he had just arrived in to the sitting room where the family had been waiting. As Harry walked in he noted that Astoria was seated near Draco Malfoy who had apparently arrived earlier that day. He could tell that the younger sister was about as uncomfortable as Draco looked in his fancy new robes that looked entirely too tight fitting in the neck and the chest. Harry greeted the young couple and then turned to the Lord and Lady Greengrass as he offered the bottle of wine. "I am told that 1984 was a particularly good year for this wine from the Potter Estate Wineries in France."

Jonathan took the bottle and scanned the label quickly. He then smiled at Harry as he said, "Perhaps we should be importing more of your family wines." Harry noted the twinkle in his eye and then he commented that the wines were selling quite well in America, but he agreed that it might be worthwhile looking into.

Isabella Greengrass invited everyone to rejoin in the dining room as the feast was almost ready to be served. As they entered the dining room, Isabella directed Harry and Draco to take seats on one side of the table while she had Daphne and Astoria sit across from the two young men. Then Jonathan took his place at the head of the table and she took her place opposite her husband. The Lord Greengrass asked for a blessing over their meal and their time together and they all sat down and the house elves began to bring out the meal. Soon they were enjoying a fabulously prepared meal. At one point, Daphne looked over at Harry and commented, "Why this is almost as good as some of the meals you have prepared."

All conversation around the table stopped as everyone looked between Harry and Daphne. Finally, Astoria broke the silence. "Are you saying Harry's house elves can cook better than our house elves?" she asked her sister with a pointed glare. Daphne was blushing from embarrassment, both for making her comment out loud and for bringing attention to Harry which she quickly realised he would not want to be receiving. Sheepishly she replied, "No, I was not referring to Harry's house elves."

Isabella looked first at her daughter and then she turned to face Harry. "Do you mean to say that young Harry here cooks his own meals? And that he is better at cooking than the elves?" She was surprised at this statement. Draco, too, was taken aback by this revelation, but he bit his lip to stop himself from making a snide comment about Harry's upbringing.

Harry noted that all eyes were now upon him, and he turned to look at Lord Greengrass before he spoke. "I learned to cook growing up with my muggle relatives," he said simply, hoping to diffuse the situation. Daphne wanted to ease the tension in the room and she added, "Well, muggles do have to cook for themselves. It's not like they have house elves to do it for them."

Isabella kept her eye on Harry. "I would imagine that you had very little time to spend with your family while you were in school. Just how did you learn to cook as well as Daphne claims you can?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not enjoying being the focus of attention like this, and not really wanting to go into his own personal history. It was one thing to open to Daphne when they were getting to know each other, but now he was having to talk about his past in front of people he barely knew, including his former nemesis from school. "I learned to cook before I went to Hogwarts."

Isabella gasped slightly. "Your family made you cook at that age?" She was not sure what to make of the comment from Harry. But she was not prepared for his answer.

Harry drew a deep breath and tried to remain calm as he answered. "I did not live with family," he said stiffly. "I was made to cook for the relatives who I stayed with." His emphasis on the word 'relatives' was not lost on anyone in the room. Draco had turned to look at Harry and then quickly turned to just stare into his plate. Harry sensed that all of the Greengrass family was staring at him, although he noted the look of sympathy that Daphne had in her eyes as she silently tried to convey her apologies for causing this topic to be brought up in front of everyone.

Before Harry could say anything more, Daphne spoke up, "Harry, I am sorry for saying anything that made you uncomfortable."

Harry nodded and looked at her, "It's all right, really it is," he said to comfort her. However, it was clear that he needed to give more of an explanation. "I was raised by mother's sister and her family. They were muggles, they hated magic. They lied to me about how my parents had died. If they saw anything that indicated I might be like my parents, that I might be magical, my uncle thought he could beat it out of me."

There was an awkward silence in the room. "The day I found out the truth about my family, about my parents, about magic, was one of the best days of my life. It was then that Hagrid, the one who delivered my letter from Hogwarts to me, brought me to Diagon Alley for the first time." Harry paused, mentally chiding himself for talking too much. "But basically, I started cooking for them when I was five." Harry let the last statement linger on their minds. Daphne tried to cover her emotion at having to listen to him retell that part of his history by assuming her mask as the ice queen.

Jonathan coughed once to draw the attention away from Harry. He liked the young man, and he knew that Harry did not want anyone's pity. "It seems to me, Harry, that you have the ability to excel in almost everything you put your mind to. I have heard tales of your exploits while in school. And of course we all know the story of your defeating the Dark Lord." Draco visibly shifted in his seat at this statement. "However, I am not aware of your future plans, or is it just to oversee your family's businesses and holdings? I would imagine that would be more than a full time job."

Harry appreciated the change in topic, although he was not sure he was particularly pleased with the new direction the conversation was headed. Astoria caught on to the new direction of the conversation and decided to help. "So, Harry, weren't you going to Auror school?" Daphne kicked her sister under the table. There was a sudden shriek of pain and Astoria turned and glared at her sister. The Lord and Lady Greengrass were staring at their daughters. Draco was stifling a laugh at the two young ladies and Harry just rolled his eyes.

Harry quickly stated that he had started Auror school, but that he had left. Before anyone could ask him further questions, he explained simply, "I decided that I did not want to make a career out of chasing dark wizards. I may eventually decide to run my family's businesses, but I still have work to do before I am ready to take on all of that. I hear that Draco is studying to be an Auror," Harry added trying to shift the conversation away from him.

Draco seemed uncomfortable with the attention now being focused upon him. As a student he tried to get as much attention as possible, but that was when he thought his family had power and prestige. But ever since the end of the war, he had learned that his family's power was all bought by the gold his father had spent freely in bribes and the prestige was more due to the reputation his father had earned for being a wizard that no one wanted to cross. Draco looked down and then back across the table at Astoria, and then he explained, "I decided that if I was to make any sort of name for myself, that if I was to do something worthwhile with my life, then becoming an Auror would be the way to start. Obviously, it is not something that anyone would expect of the son of Lucius Malfoy, unless of course they believed I was doing it to protect others and not actually perform the job of an Auror."

Harry looked at Draco and he could see the worry on his face. Harry knew that look, it was the fear that others would not believe you. Finally, Harry spoke, "Well, you do have a hard road in front of you then, as I would gather that many within the ministry and the DMLE would not trust you easily." His words were spoken as simple fact, and Harry tried to keep any emotion out of his comments. Draco looked back at Harry and raised an eyebrow. Noting this response, Harry continued, "I think I have had more than my share of having people not believe me or trust me." As Harry realised that all eyes were on him now, he understood he needed to explain his statement. "During my fourth year, even my own house mates and friends didn't believe me when I told them I had not entered my name for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. After the end of that year, the ministry refused to believe me when I told people that Voldemort had returned." His using the name of the defeated Dark Lord still caused Astoria and Isabella to visibly shudder. "During my fifth year, the Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic who had managed to manoeuvre herself into a position at Hogwarts continued to persecute me for my 'lies' for stating that the Dark Lord had returned."

Draco spoke up, "But we all knew he had returned." He noted the eyes of everyone looking at him questioningly, and then he added, "Well, many of us did, but we were not foolish enough to antagonise the pink toad."

Astoria looked at Harry more sympathetically than before and then asked, "How did she persecute you? I mean, we all knew she gave you detentions at a drop of the hat, and she tried to ban you from playing quidditch for life…"

Harry sighed as he considered how best to answer her question. Honesty, he told himself, would be the best way to respond. He held out his left hand, where the scars were still visible. "She made me write lines," he said softly. "With a blood quill. Every night I was in detention. The same phrase, over and over again. The scars are quite permanent now."

Draco had the clearest view of the back of Harry's hand. "I must not tell lies," he spoke the words quietly, but everyone at the table heard them. Harry pulled his hand back and looked away from the table. He noted the expression of sympathy on Daphne's mother's face. "I do not need your pity, it is all behind me. Part of my past. I guess it helped make me stronger so I could face Voldemort in the end."

Draco looked at Harry's hand that he had balled into a fist at his side, and then up at Harry. "Potter," he said softly, then paused and began again, "erm, Harry, I had no idea that those things were true. Honestly, I had no idea. I think I started to understand the truth of what was really happening back during sixth year."

Harry looked at Draco and he could see the sincerity in his face that matched his words. Harry hesitated as he thought about how to respond. He decided that if Draco was being honest, that he would be honest back. "I was there on the tower the night that Dumbledore was killed. I saw what you did, and perhaps more importantly, what you did not do." Draco gave him a puzzled look. "You disarmed him. Someone else killed him."

Daphne muttered the name "Snape" with a sneer.

Harry turned and looked at her. "Actually, everything Snape did, he did to defeat Tom Riddle. He was working for Dumbledore ever since the night that my parents were killed."

Everyone in the room gaped at Harry's statement.

"But that is a story best left for another time," added Harry. "This is Christmas, it should be a day of joy, not a day of brooding and feeling sorry for ourselves."

Everyone looked around and quickly agreed with him. Daphne picked up her glass of wine and then lifted it in front of her as she said, "Happy Christmas everyone!" Then the others sitting at the table took their glasses and raised them together as they echoed "Happy Christmas!"

The conversation turned to a lighter tone. There were discussions on what people had been doing over the past year. Astoria and Daphne laughed about fun they had on holiday the previous summer. Isabella turned to Draco as she asked, "So, do you have any particular plans for the coming year?"

Draco grinned awkwardly and then he answered, "Well, I will still be in school. Auror training, it lasts a full two years. I thought I had enough of school when I finished at Hogwarts, but this is kind of a new beginning for me." He took a sip of water and glanced over at Astoria and then at Lord Greengrass. "I feel I have a lot to prove, to my teachers, to the ministry, to myself." He paused before adding, "And I have a lot to prove to others." With that he then looked over towards Harry then he finished by stating, "Some of us already have a reputation of which we can be proud. Some of us have our work cut out for us."

Lady Greengrass turned to Harry, as she asked, "And what are your plans? I know you mentioned you had decided not to become an Auror, so what are your immediate plans? You mentioned getting more involved with your family businesses. But do you have any more specific plans?"

Harry again shifted in his chair. He looked towards Daphne and then he looked back at her mother. "Well, I have been doing some studying with a muggle professor, at a muggle university."

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "And just what would be so interesting for you to attend a muggle university?"

Harry now took a sip from his glass of water and then he answered cautiously, "Well, I am not attending the university, I met a professor at one of the colleges there, and he has done some interesting research into magical creatures. I am curious about what the muggles may actually know about our society, so I have been trying to find out more about what this man has been teaching. So far, I haven't really found out anything useful. But I have found the discussion interesting. He is planning on introducing me to another professor who has studied older literature and may have some articles on magic from the Middle Ages. So, I was hoping to find out what the muggles used to teach about our magical world."

Astoria rolled her eyes as she commented, "Sounds boring. Who really cares what they teach about us? They really don't know anything about us at all, with the International Statutes of Wizarding Secrecy, there really isn't much they have been allowed to know."

Harry was hopeful that this would be a way out of this conversation. Then the Lord Greengrass joined in. "No Astoria, the International Statues weren't signed until 1690. Before then there were many muggles who knew about wizards and witches and the magical world. Harry did mention that he was studying things written in the Middle Ages, a period that occurred quite a long time before that. I for one am curious to what Harry will learn through these studies." He then turned to Harry as he continued, "I would personally find it interesting for you to share with us what you discover through your meetings with this muggle professor. Please take the time to share it with us all as soon as you can. I imagine that it may be most enlightening."

The conversation returned to more mundane topics. Lord Greengrass turned to Harry as he asked, "Now, my young man, do you have plans for New Years? Are you planning on attending the Ministry's New Year's Eve Ball?"

Harry blushed slightly, then he answered, "No, sir, I was planning on going to a small party that one of my friends was having that night. I was hoping that Daphne would join me for an evening with Lord Longbottom at his family home. Apparently Neville is not planning on attending the Ministry Ball either," he added.

Isabella smiled as she looked from Harry to Daphne. "I haven't heard much about young Neville for so long. I presume he must have been in Gryffindor, just like yourself Harry." She then turned to Daphne, "You never mentioned Neville any time we spoke of your time at Hogwarts. Don't you remember playing with him when you were a little girl?"

Daphne blushed. Harry grinned at the sight of her reaction. "You never mentioned to me that you knew Neville before school," he said.

Daphne was startled by Harry's comment and then she thought about how he had not grown up amongst wizards and witches. "We got to know most of the pure-blood families when I was growing up. Most magical families attend all of the same parties and get togethers."

Astoria then added, "You would have been going to all the same parties as us when you were little if your parents hadn't been killed." The Lord and Lady Greengrass were shocked at the boldness of their daughter's comments. Astoria tried to muffle a cry of pain as her sister kicked her shin under the table again. She turned and glared at Daphne as she whispered "What was that for?"

Harry noted the tension developing around the table. Even Draco seemed to blush a little at the comment that was made. Harry tried to lighten the mood as he said, "Really, it's quite all right. I am sure that you must be right Astoria. The Potter family was very involved in politics and such, or so I have been learning as I learn more about my family's heritage."

"Most of the parties were absolutely dreadful," contributed Draco, "or at least the ones that I attended as a young boy. So, you may be glad you missed some of them."

Harry turned and grinned in response to Draco.

Eventually they retired to the sitting room as the Christmas dinner feast was over. Later, as Harry was preparing to floo back to the Potter Manor, Lady Greengrass asked him a question. "So, I presume that Daphne will be joining you for Neville's New Year's Eve party. Will Draco and Astoria be joining you as well?" Then she turned to her younger daughter and the young man standing by her side, "Or will you two be joining us for the ball at the ministry?"

Astoria turned to Daphne and then to Harry with a hopeful look in her eye. Harry noticed her pleading expression and then he quickly replied, "I am sure they would be more than welcome, but I will confirm this with Neville tomorrow." Daphne gave Harry a slight wink of thanks before giving him a kiss on his cheek and then he stepped into the green flames of the fire-place.

Harry stumbled but did not fall as he appeared in his own sitting room. "How are you going to explain this one to Neville?" he asked himself as he realised he had to get an invitation for Astoria and Draco.

* * *

Harry felt that he might have been imposing on Neville when he had asked him about having some of his friends join him at the New Year's Eve Party. Neville had raised an eyebrow at Harry's request, for he thought he knew all of Harry's friends. He was well aware that he and Ron were on the outs, as it were, but he had hoped that the two would be good enough to behave well when they were at Neville's home. So Neville had asked who Harry was planning to bring with him, and Harry had blushed slightly when he mentioned that he wanted his girlfriend to join him. When Neville had learned that Harry was referring to the Ice Queen of Slytherin, he could hardly believe him, and then he had clapped him on the back in congratulations. But then when Neville had asked who else he wanted to bring, Harry became obviously uncomfortable. After a moment's hesitation, he informed Neville that he was hoping that Daphne's sister and her betrothed could come to the party as well. Neville immediately answered that of course they could come. But upon noting Harry's continued unease, Neville had asked Harry who Astoria's betrothed was, and did he know this young man. Harry was sure that Neville would either curse him or worse when he mentioned it was Draco Malfoy. Neville's shock at that revelation was expected. But what shocked Neville the most was that Harry was speaking of the blonde snake as a friend. Harry apologised to Neville for even bringing it up, but he said he would personally vouch for Draco's behaviour at the party. That promise had intrigued Neville. Neville had learned to trust Harry during their years together at school and Harry was the first person to truly trust Neville, so he assumed that there was more behind this whole situation than Harry was letting on, but he was okay with that.

Harry was grateful for Neville's trust. He was also impressed that Neville had been named Lord Longbottom so soon after the war had ended. Once his grandmother had learned of all that Neville had done during his seventh year at school, and of his part in the defeating of Voldemort, she realised that he would easily be the man who would lead the noble and most ancient House of Longbottom with poise and dignity. Harry stopped his thoughts from continuing to dwell on his close friend as he finished getting ready for the party. He knew that Draco and Astoria would be waiting with Daphne for him at the Greengrass Manor, and then together the four of them would floo to Longbottom Manor.

When he arrived at Daphne's parent's home, he managed to step out of the fire-place with only a slight stumble. He silently thanked his girlfriend for all of the help she had been giving him with dealing with the floo network. Harry looked up to see an elegantly dressed blonde haired beauty in a stunning red gown, her hair pulled back in a slight braid and her deep blue eyes capturing his attention. He just stared at her as he took in her beauty.

A female voice interrupted his thoughts as he heard Astoria exclaim, "Come on Potter, stop drooling, you're worse than a lovesick puppy dog."

Draco laughed at this comment until he noted the glare from Daphne. Harry gave Astoria a quick glare and then turned back to his girlfriend. "You look lovelier than ever," he said sincerely.

Daphne turned to Draco, "Pay attention, take some pointers from Potter here, it just might help soften the junior ice princess a little."

Harry smirked at the other couple as he teased in a friendly tone, "Draco would never admit to anyone that he needed to learn anything from me."

Draco stiffened at the comment and then when he noted Harry's smirk, he relaxed and joined in with the fun, "That is probably more true than any of us would care to admit." Then he turned to Harry as he questioned him once more about the evening ahead, "And you're sure that Longbottom is fine with my coming over to this party? It's not like he has any reason to extend pleasantries to me." Malfoy left the logic behind that statement unspoken, but it was all to well understood by everyone standing around the fireplace.

"Draco," answered Harry trying to sound reassuring and not condescending, "I already told you, I spoke to Neville earlier this week. He is fine with you coming over. Besides, if there is a problem tonight, I'm the one he is going to hex, not you."

Harry then turned to the entire group, as he stated, "Well, we should be off to Longbottom Manor, we don't want everyone dying of boredom waiting for us to arrive."

Draco muttered quietly, "Still needing to be the centre of attention, eh Potter?"

Harry cast a sideways glance at Draco, "I heard that." Then he gave him a pointed look as he stated, "And you promised to behave."

With that, the foursome took turns stepping into the fireplace and out into Longbottom Manor.

As they arrived they were pleased to see that several people had already arrived. Hannah Abbott was standing at Neville's side, as they were talking with Susan Bones and Ernie MacMillan. Harry also noted Luna Lovegood talking with the Patil twins and over to the other side of the room, was Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. Harry felt like he had shown up at some sort of reunion. But then a silence fell over the crowd as they all stared, and several jaws dropped. Harry initially assumed that the reaction was due to people not expecting to see the boy-who-lived, as he had been staying out of the magical public eye for a while. Then he felt like someone had hit him in the face with a bludger as it dawned on him who he had just arrived with.

Neville looked around the room, surprised by the intense reaction of all of his guests. Harry stopped Neville from saying anything with a quick shake of his head. Then he proceeded to wrap his arm around Daphne's waist as he proclaimed, "I know, I know, you are all so shocked to see me with the most beautiful witch you have ever seen. For those of you who have not made her acquaintance let me introduce to you my girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass."

Daphne looked at Harry as though he had two heads. Before anyone else could speak, Harry quickly placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "And for those of you who have not had the pleasure, may I introduce to you the charming, if not quite so arrogant, Draco Malfoy." Draco turned to glare at Harry, who whispered under his breath, "Trust me Draco, just go with this." Turning back to the still shocked partygoers, Harry continued, "The former ferret is a friend of mine, and I trust that you will welcome him as you would me." Then he turned to face his Irish friend and former house mate, "Well, except for you Seamus, you weren't always so keen on welcoming me," Harry added with a grin and a laugh.

Several people chuckled at Seamus' expense, including Dean Thomas. Then Neville walked up to Draco and offered his hand in greeting. "Thanks for coming, I am glad that you and Astoria were able to join us."

The atmosphere in the room notably lightened when everyone noticed their host and the boy-who-lived both being friendly with the former Death Eater. Conversations soon began among the small groups of friends, and every once in while there were glances cast towards the trio of Slytherins. As people settled down to enjoy themselves, Harry's friends from school took their turns coming up and congratulating him on his relationship with Daphne. Draco, for his part, was still quite uncomfortable being in such a crowd of Lions, Badgers and Eagles, so he kept close to Harry and Daphne throughout the evening.

Eventually Harry found himself sitting around a small table with a number of new and old friends. Neville and Hannah had pulled up a chair facing where Harry and Daphne sat together. Beside Daphne was her sister Astoria, and Draco was sitting on the arm of the chair on her right. Seamus and Dean were straddling chairs while sipping on their butter beers. Susan Bones turned to Harry as she asked him what he had been up to.

Harry laughed lightly, "Well, other than befriending Snakes, and getting myself a new girlfriend, not too much."

Seamus spoke up, "But Harry, I thought you went to Auror school, with Ron."

Dean Thomas glared at Seamus and punched him in the shoulder. Harry noted the interchange between the two good friends, then he began his answer. "It's okay Dean. Yes, I did start Auror training last year, but I quit towards the end of the year."

Neville had not really talked to his good friend Harry that much over the past year, so he gathered his courage and he asked, "But why? You would have been great at it. Why would you quit it?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at the question and he turned to face Harry as he added his own comments, "Come on Scarhead, we all know you have what it takes to do the job. You proved that to our whole world when you defeated Volde…" The name of the Dark Lord died on his lips. Draco then continued, "I'm doing fine in Auror training." Several eyes opened wide at the statement, as no one in the room had ever expected that Draco Malfoy would ever try to become an Auror. "There has to be more to this than what you're letting on."

Daphne squeezed Harry's hand slightly and gave him an encouraging look.

Harry sighed as he looked around at the faces of his friends, both new and old, and then he began to explain. "Well, at first I went to Auror training because that was what everyone expected of the 'vanquisher of Voldemort' but I soon realised that my heart wasn't really in it." The simple explanation was too short and clearly was not cutting it with his friends who continued to eye him closely, silently communicating to Harry that they knew there was still more to the story.

Harry turned and looked at Draco. "So, is Auror Branninn still teaching?"

Draco visibly winced. "That pathetic excuse for a wizard?" he replied and then he noted that all eyes were now focused on him. He understood that the group was waiting for an explanation. "Well, he is arrogant, probably knows less than half of the spells that Harry does, and probably has never had to do anything more serious than fine someone for flying a broom to close to a muggle neighbourhood. He bullies all of the students and he thinks he is the smartest wizard around. He derides the minister every chance he can get. I'm not sure why he is actually a teacher there."

Neville spoke his thoughts aloud, "Reminds me of someone we used to know."

Harry turned to Neville, "Don't be fooled, Nev, Snape was down right kind and considerate compared to this clown."

Neville cocked his head to one side, and then he spoke to Harry. "But you put up with Snape for six years, how could you not put up with this guy for less than one year?"

Everyone seemed to nod in agreement with Neville. They all wondered what could have made Harry quit Auror training. Even Draco was puzzled about this, for he knew that Branninn was difficult at best, but he was not sure how he could have caused Harry to leave the training program.

"Every lesson was the same. Every lesson included a jab at me. He would make comments about my supposed skill, implied that I thought I was better than everyone else. He made Snape's targeting of me in potions classes seem like friendly banter. He would sarcastically call out how would the local hero handle a particular situation. He made comments to the effect that I would probably get half of my fellow Aurors killed because of my recklessness." Harry grimaced as he thought about the painful classes he sat through with that port excuse of a wizard.

Daphne was surprised to hear Harry's words. "But we all saw you deal with worse treatment from many teachers at Hogwarts. You defeated a Dark Lord. How could you not put up with that? You're bigger than that. You can take a few insults. By Merlin's beard, you put up with Draco for all those years."

Several of Harry's friends loudly agreed with Daphne. Seamus spoke up, "You have the right to be an Auror, well, if you want to be one."

"I know, I could have put up with it if I had really wanted to," Harry answered as he looked around the group. "But I eventually realised, that I did not want to spend my life chasing dark wizards, fighting the next dark lord. I spent the first seven years of my life in the magical world constantly fighting, constantly battling someone. I decided I had enough. I wanted to live my life for me. I wanted to make my own decisions. I didn't want to be told what I can or cannot do by anyone."

Dean nodded his head slowly and then spoke up. "So then, Harry, what have you decided to do with yourself now that you're growing up?"

Harry looked at Daphne, and then he turned back to Dean. "I'm not there yet. I still have some obligations I need to take care of first."

Seamus took another long drink from his butter beer and then asked, "What kind of obligations?"

Dean elbowed him in the side. Harry looked away as he answered softly, "Obligations. There are some things I need to set right, personal things. It's no big deal, it's just taking some time."

Daphne put her hand on Harry's thigh and squeezed it gently to let him know that she was there, supporting him. He leaned into her slightly accepting the comforting gesture.

Suddenly there was a loud commotion in the other room where the fireplace was. Everyone in their small group turned to look as they saw a red-headed young man walk in with a woman held close in his right arm, a bottle of fire whiskey in his left hand as he loudly proclaimed, "Hey, the party can finally get started!"

Draco muttered under his breath, "Stupid Weasel."

Astoria elbowed him in the side as she whispered, "You said you would be nice." Draco gave her a look that implied he was trying to do just that.

Ron staggered slightly as he entered the room where Harry was sitting with his friends. He looked around and his eyes fixed on Harry. "Oh, the boy-who-lived decided to grace us all with his presence. Hiya Harry!"

Harry gripped Daphne's leg with his hand as he answered tersely, "Hi Ron. How have you been?"

Ron just glared at Harry and then he turned and focused on Draco. "What the bloody hell is a bloody Snake doing here?" He looked around the room again and then he looked at Neville. "Nev, mate, you've got a whole infestation of snakes here? What the bloody hell were you thinking?"

Neville blushed as he stood up and calmly stated, "They are here as my guests. And as my friends," he added.

Ron took half a step back and then he turned to look at Harry and he then noticed he had his hand on Daphne. His eyes grew large, he took a sip from his bottle of fire whiskey and then he glared at Daphne. "So, are you the bitch who cast a love potion on my friend here and made him break up with my sister?" Ron's voice was beginning to drawl due to the effects of the fire whiskey.

Before Daphne could say anything, Harry stood up and spoke calmly but tersely to his former best mate. "I would ask you to keep your stupid opinions to yourself, Ronald, and do not speak about things you do not know. Daphne has never cast any spell on me, and she is a kinder and lovelier person than your sister could hope to be." Ron's eyes shot daggers at Harry. "And that is not meant as any disrespect to your family, but merely to point out that Miss Greengrass is a lovely and talented young witch."

The discomfort in the room was rising quickly, especially as most of the people here had never witnessed the two former friends facing off like this before.

Ron looked with disgust at his former mate and the young witch sitting next to where Harry was standing. "Well, when you're down on your luck and running out of money, I guess any port in the storm would do, even if it is a snake." Ron nearly spat the words in Daphne's face as he had slowly been stepping closer to Harry.

Harry stepped in between where Ron was standing and Daphne was sitting. "Ronald, you're crossing a line you don't want to cross."

Ron sneered at Harry. "Oh, am I supposed to be scared of the boy-who-couldn't cut it in Auror training? Couldn't handle that without Hermione's help, huh? Well, _mate_, who is the one who is still in training? Who is the one with a future now?"

Neville stood between Harry and Ron and tried to settle things. "Ron, that's uncalled for and you know it. If you can't be civil, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

Ron spun around in a circle and noted that everyone was staring at him most unpleasantly. After catching himself from falling, he turned and faced Neville again. "You know, after you cut the head off of that bloody snake, I never expected you would welcome any of them into your house. How do you get rid of the smell after they're gone?" Ron started laughing at what he thought was a joke.

Harry was about to respond and he moved to take a step closer, but Daphne grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

Neville stepped closer to Ron as he spoke clearly and slowly, "I do believe it is time for you to leave Ron."

Ron dropped his bottle which shattered on the floor in front of Neville. "Oops. Sorry about that. Fine, I guess I must be leaving now. I thought you guys used to be more fun back in school, but I guess I was wrong." With that he turned and grabbed the young woman who he had been clinging to earlier and he headed back to the room with the fireplace. A few moments later and they had disappeared.

Neville looked at Harry. "I am sorry you had to put up with that."

Harry reassured his friend. "Hey, it wasn't your fault, really."

Draco looked out towards the fire-place and then back at his new friends. "Scarhead, can you please explain to me how you put up with that for all those years at school?"

Seamus and Dean now glared at Draco.

Harry noted their reaction and waved his hand to dismiss them. "Draco, Ron was never that bad in school, he did have his moments where he proved himself to be a good friend."

Draco shook his head, "I think the operative word there must be 'did'. The weasel is such a prat."

Harry looked at Draco and replied, "I could have easily said the same thing about you not too long ago."

Seamus relaxed into his chair, and muttered, "Well that looks like the end of the Golden Trio for good."

Hannah looked at Seamus and then she turned to Harry. "Harry, what ever happened to Hermione, the rest of the Golden Trio?"

Harry sat down next to Daphne who cuddled close to him to comfort him. Harry started to explain what he knew. Shortly after the war had ended she was determined to go to Australia, to find her parents who she had sent there after obliviating them. Harry explained that she had done this to protect them from the Death Eaters. Draco acknowledged that it was probably the best thing she could have done for them at the time.

"Did she find them?" asked Hannah.

"What happened between her and Ron?" asked Susan.

"She and Ron split up before she left," he answered. "Ron didn't want her to go, he reasoned that if she had obliviated her parents then there would be no way they could regain those memories, so what would be the point. He told her he wanted her to stay with him, to raise his family and stay at home just like his mum had done."

Susan scoffed at that statement, "I bet that went over real well with Hermione."

"She slapped him, and then she walked out. She then left for Australia the next week," Harry sighed. "I haven't heard from her since."

In the next room they heard small explosions and noticed flashing lights as their friends were casting sparking spells and shouting "Happy New Year!" to each other.

Neville looked around the room and pulled out his wand as he sent out several streamers with loud snaps and pops as he joined in with the cheers of Happy New Year.

Harry leaned over and kissed Daphne. As he did so, he noted Draco lean over and place a kiss on Astoria's head. She reached up and squeezed his hand briefly and then dropped it.

* * *

It was several days later, and Harry was meeting with Professor Rawling Smith. They were walking across the campus at Pembroke College to meet with Professor Shaw. Harry could feel his palms become sweaty in anticipation of the meeting and the possibility of finally getting some answers. Answers which he had not been able to find anywhere within the magical world.

Upon arriving in the office of the professor for Old English, Harry marvelled at the works of art along the walls. Some of the paintings depicted scenes of ancient armies in battle, others included scenes that seemed to come straight from fantasy novels such as The Lord of the Rings, and others were simple portraits of various men. Harry presumed that these were past professors who held this position within the college.

The professor stood up to greet the two who had just entered his office as he removed his own glasses.

"I'm Harry Potter and I am very glad to have this opportunity to meet with you sir," smiled Harry as he reached to shake his hand.

"Gregory Bradford Shaw," stated the professor without any hint of emotion. "And I do not write poetry."

Rawling chuckled at the comment, but Harry seemed confused by the simple statement. Professor Shaw rolled his eyes when he realised that Harry had no idea what was meant by his little joke. He then eyed Professor Smith as he said dismissively, "This is the young man you have raved so much about? Well, we shall see what can be done."

Smith turned to Harry, "Mr. Potter, could you explain to Professor Shaw just what it is that you are hoping to find. I believe that would be the best place to start."

Shaw nodded and indicated with a wave of his hand that the two visitors to his office should take a seat. Upon arranging their chairs across from their host, Harry began to speak.

"I am in need of information about dragons, sir."

Shaw looked from Harry to Rawling Smith and then back again. "And just why do you think I could possibly be of any help to you then? I lecture on Old English, not mythical beasts." His tone was unpleasant and Harry could tell that he felt that his time was being wasted.

Harry scratched the side of his face briefly as he selected his words carefully. "I have become aware that you, as the Professor of Old English here at Pembroke College, have the unique access to many texts that are written in Old English, texts which may provide me with the answers which I seek."

"How wonderfully adventurous and cryptic of you, young man," commented the professor. "What texts do you think I have available to me, and why would I offer this to you for your use?"

Harry looked to Professor Shaw's right and studied the portrait of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Then he looked back at Professor Shaw. "I do believe that your predecessor, the esteemed JRR Tolkien, had access to such books. I am curious if you have found these resources, and if you have not, I would imagine that being able to peruse hundreds if not thousands of Old English texts would be of significant academic value to yourself."

Professor Shaw turned and looked over his shoulder at the portrait that Harry had been looking at and then he turned back to face Harry. "Mr. Potter, I am not sure who you can help me in this matter."

Harry smiled, and then he snapped his right arm forward and his wand shot out from his wand holder on is forearm and into his hand. Harry quietly spoke words that Gregory Shaw would never have recognised and then the portrait of Tolkien silently moved off of the wall and floated down to lean against the wall by the door to the office.

Shaw watched this happen and he tried to keep a straight face, avoiding any eye contact with either of his guests. He knew there was some sort of hidden vault behind the portrait but so far he had never been able to find a way to access that vault. Harry made a few rapid movements with his wand and then the outline of a door appeared around the vault.

Harry stood up and gestured with his hand towards the now slowly opening door. "Shall we have ourselves a little look?" he asked with a wide grin.

Shaw was about to ask Harry how he had done all of that, but as he looked towards Smith he made a simple shake of his head to indicate to not ask any questions just yet. The three men stepped through the narrow entrance and into what appeared to be a large dusty library type room. Professor Shaw marvelled as he looked around for he knew that the wall they had just walked through was on the exterior wall of the building. He just walked slowly as he stared at dozens of book shelves, all covered with either thick tomes or various size scrolls. In the centre of the room was a simple table which had not been used in some time. Shaw wondered if this was where Tolkien himself did some of his research.

"What are these books?" he asked in amazement.

"That is what we are here to find out," answered Smith. The threesome started to look at the various books on the shelves and they were soon working on reading the names of various authors who had written the various texts. A book bound in red leather caught Harry's attention. He pulled it gently off of the shelf, and walked back to the table in the centre of the room. "Just what did you find there?" queried Shaw.

"Just a simple book," answered Harry as he gently handed it words the professor.

GBS looked at the book and held it tenderly as skimmed the pages silently. He turned back to the cover and then held the book aloft for Harry and Professor Smith.

"It says here that the title of this particular book is "Dragons, and how to speak with them," by Myrddin Emrys. "I suppose this is what you are looking for?"

* * *

**AN: This chapter ended up being longer than I had anticipated, so I will leave the story off here, and the parts of the story that I had originally planned for the rest of this chapter will be the beginning of the next chapter. As always, I appreciate the comments, reviews, support and encouragement. I hope that you all continue to enjoy the story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Another update quicker than I had originally expected. Hopefully you all will enjoy it. The story is only getting longer as I keep working on the outline (which already includes at least 5 more chapters that are planned out)….**

* * *

Harry was amazed with what he had been discovering during his time studying in the secret library at Pembroke College. It did not take long for him to learn that he could not remove any of the items from the room, a fact he discovered painfully the first day when he wanted to take a particular book home. The electrical shock that sent him flying across the room was painful enough. The resulting aches and pains throughout his body that lasted for the next couple of days continued to remind him not to ever try that again. The book he was carrying had been neatly returned to the shelf where it belonged, completely unscathed from the effects of the charm that had attacked Harry.

Professors Shaw had been startled by the active working of magic in the room that protected the contents. Professor Smith, however, had found the whole scene rather amusing as he chuckled out loud at the sight of Harry flying backwards with electrical energy radiating off of him for a minute after he landed on his back.

The next several weeks Harry spent most of his waking time studying in the Hall of Secrets, as he and the professors had nicknamed the small library. Both of the professors had been spending time in the room for their own research purposes.

Harry had required a fair amount of assistance from Professor Shaw due to the texts and scrolls being written in Old English. Trying to decipher the handwriting itself was at times a challenge, however as the weeks wore on, and Harry was finding it easier to make out the words and their meanings. He had also begun to make notes using a variation of the Quick Quotes Quill that Rita Skeeter had used when she was a reporter for the Daily Prophet, and Harry was happy to discover that he was able to take his own notes with him when he left the Hall of Secrets.

When he returned home to the manor at night, he often spent hours studying the notes he had taken. He saw little of Daphne during this time as he was so preoccupied by what he was studying and learning. Harry knew that Greengrass Imports was beginning to flourish as business grew through the arrangements which he had made, and this in turn gave Daphne more responsibilities as her family's business was requiring her to help out more directly than she had in months.

March was quickly approaching, and Harry had hardly seen his girlfriend over the past few weeks. He returned home on a Friday evening to find Daphne waiting for him in his sitting room. Harry had a satchel slung over his shoulder which held the copious noted he had obtained that week through his studies. Harry was startled to see her there as they had not spoken in days. His initial surprise turned to a slight grin, as he was happy to find her there. However his smile quickly faded as he noted the look in her eyes.

Daphne had been eagerly waiting for Harry to return to his manor. She knew she could get into his home as he had keyed her into the wards months ago, and she had been missing seeing him regularly. It was a Friday evening, and she wanted to surprise him with an impromptu get together. When Harry stepped through the fireplace and into the room her initial reaction was excitement at seeing him. And then she looked at him and she became worried. His eyes were bloodshot and he had dark circles under them, all due to a lack of sleep she quickly and correctly concluded. His hair was more of a mess than usual. While it was getting longer, it looked as though he hadn't showered and bathed in days.

"Bloody hell, Harry!" she exclaimed. "What's gotten into you? You look awful."

Harry was startled initially by her words and tone. Daphne reached out and took him in her arms. "You need a break, you need sleep, but mostly you need to get cleaned up," she admonished him. She then reached up and caressed his cheek.

Harry gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Then he smiled and hugged her back. "Well, at least one of us looks absolutely marvellous," he said with a grin as he stepped back and admired her form in her jeans and blouse.

Daphne was happy to see him relax and smile. "You really need to take some time away from all of this studying and research. And yes, I do know how important it is to you," she added, "but you need a shower, and I'll arrange for a quick meal for us."

Harry looked at her suspiciously. "You're going to cook?" he asked.

"I didn't say that," she said aghast, "I said I will arrange for us to get a meal. I can talk with your elves you know, they actually do listen to me when I am here with you." She laughed at him, and then pushed him towards the stairs, "Now you go get cleaned up and we'll have something for you when you get down here."

Harry paused and looked at her suspiciously as he wondered just what she had planned. "Okay, okay," he said as her glare indicated that she was serious about him getting going. After he headed upstairs, Daphne called on Mal, the senior house elf, and she told him her plan. He smiled, and quickly disappeared.

About thirty minutes later Harry arrived downstairs to find Daphne waiting for him in the sitting room. He looked a little more relaxed, but the circles under his eyes still had her worried. Harry gave her a questioning look as he walked into the room and she just waved him over to join her on the sofa.

"So, what is your big plan for dinner?" he asked as he looked towards the kitchen and then back towards Daphne. "We're not going out are we? I am really too tired for that."

Daphne shook her head, "Of course not, I could tell that wouldn't work, so Mal will be here shortly with dinner."

Harry stopped in his tracks as he looked at her. "We're not going into the dining room?"

She reached out and took his hand and gently pulled him down to sit on the couch with her, "No, we'll be eating here."

Just after he sat down, his house elf Mal appeared with a large brown bag. The smell gave away the meal immediately, and even before the house elf removed the small white cartons of Chinese food from within the bag harry realised what his girlfriend had planned. As they picked up chopsticks and began to eat, Mal had arranged for a couple of butter beers to appear on the small table in front of them as well.

"It's been a while since we've been able to get together," Daphne said with a grin, "so I decided what better way to catch up with you than the way we first got to know each other."

Harry grinned as he recalled their first meal together. "Over Chinese food," he reminisced, "and look where that lead us to…."

Harry leaned against his girlfriend as they ate their food. After several minutes in silence, Daphne spoke up. "I am getting worried about you Harry. You need to rest, you need to do something more than all of this studying you've been doing."

Harry sighed. "You know why I have to do this."

"Remind me," she said a little impatiently.

"I need to make things right with the goblins, I don't want to feel that I owe anything to anyone," Harry replied, his fatigue apparent in his words. Then he raised an eyebrow as he seemed to find some energy from deep within, "But I am getting closer. I have found some information; I found a text where Merlin discussed how he was able to control a dragon. It won't be easy."

Daphne was excited to hear that Harry was making progress. "Nothing is ever easy when it comes to you, Harry," she said softly. She was going to ask him more about his discoveries but she could tell by his eyes that he was too fatigued. "But you, young man, need some rest. As soon as we're done here, I am having Mal get you in bed."

He wagged his eyebrows at her comment.

"No, I am not doing that for you, I said Mal would," she admonished him. "But I will stay in a guest room," her eyes gave him a look that indicated that she was serious about this, "and tomorrow we can spend the day together, when you are rested. I will have Mal and Hoban remove all of your notes from your bedroom and lock them in your study until after the weekend is over."

"All right, all right," Harry relented as he finished his food.

* * *

Saturday morning Harry awoke feeling very refreshed. He was surprised by how bright the light was shining in through his bedroom window. Quickly he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and he checked the time, it was half past nine in the morning. He jumped out of bed and quickly washed and then dressed, heading down to check on breakfast. He wondered if Daphne was still in the manor, he recalled that she had said something about staying in a guest room. As he walked into the sitting room he found her curled up on the sofa reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. Upon his entering the room she looked at him and then discarded the paper onto the nearby table.

Her smile nearly reached her ears as she saw that he visibly appeared more rested. "You are looking much better this morning, my handsome man," she said as she greeted him with a kiss on his cheek. "Although, you could use more sleep, those dark circles under your eyes are fading, but they are still present," she added with a frown as she caressed his face.

Harry leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry that I must have made you feel left out over the past few weeks," he began.

Daphne cut him off, "More like a couple of months, buster," she chided.

"Right," he conceded. "So I take it that you are not letting me get back to my searching for the answers I need any time this weekend."

Daphne ignored his question as she took him by the hand and walked him towards the informal dining area next to the kitchen. "We are not discussing that at all today," she said without looking back at him. "You are going to sit down and enjoy a big breakfast prepared for you and then we are going to spend the day relaxing."

Harry stopped and pulled her slightly to force Daphne to spin and face him. "And just what do you mean by 'relaxing'?" he asked her.

Daphne's eyes twinkled at this question. "Shopping of course!" she exclaimed much to Harry's horror. After a moment she laughed at him and then confessed. "No, not really, but I was thinking we could take the time and go for a leisurely walk. Maybe we can do some window shopping in Diagon Alley. Maybe we can go out to eat."

"Just you and me, and everyone staring at us while we go to Diagon Alley?" Harry mused.

"Oh, well, that's not exactly what I said," corrected Daphne.

Harry raised an eyebrow at this.

"Perhaps I forgot to mention that we will be joining Astoria and Draco for the day."

Harry gave her a quizzical look, and then he opened his mouth as he was about to make a comment. Daphne placed a finger on his lips to silence him. "Yes, I know, it's not really chaperoning them," she said trying to reassure him. Then she added, "Well, okay, it is really chaperoning those two, per my father's request. You did seem to get along with them quite well at Neville's party, so I thought that this would be fine."

"Your father wants you and me to chaperone Astoria and Draco?" asked Harry clearly not believing the whole statement."

Daphne bit her lip, and then she replied, "All right, Tori is still uncomfortable at times with Draco, so she asked me if we would come along."

Harry let go of her hand as he started towards the dining area again. "Well, then I better eat up if I have to watch over a bunch of snakes all day." He smirked at his girlfriend who then playfully punched him in the shoulder.

An hour later Harry found himself with his girlfriend as they dutifully tagged along behind Astoria and Draco as they walked along the most famous magical shopping district in England. Draco and Astoria were walking side by side, still not comfortable or close enough to actually hold hands in public. Harry had his hand around Daphne's waist as they kept a comfortable distance between them and the other couple. Both Harry and Daphne noted that Draco was behaving as quite the gentleman, holding the door open for Astoria every time they went into a store, doting over her every possible need, offering to buy her something in every store they went entered. Harry commented to Daphne that perhaps there might be hope for Draco after all, even though it had only been a few months since he had approached the Lord Greengrass about the marriage contract that needed to be fulfilled. Both Harry and Daphne had noted that Astoria had resigned herself to her fate with Draco, but she did seem to be softening up to being around him. And so far, everything appeared to those who spent any time with the young couple that Draco was genuinely trying to fit in with the Greengrass family and the arrogance and rudeness that had so often manifested itself while he was a student had been nowhere to be seen over the ensuing months.

Harry was having a pleasant day strolling with his arm around his beautiful girlfriend on this unseasonably warm day for early March. There was a slight breeze, and few clouds in the sky. Harry was grateful that Daphne had forced him away from all of his research as he realised now how much he did need a break from the seemingly endless task.

Harry glanced up at the sign on the building in front of them Weasley's' Wizarding Wheezes. Harry thought how he had not entered that shop in close to a year. He was still a part owner, having fronted Fred and George the start up money. The business was so successful that his goblin advisors had recommended that Harry continue to invest in the growing company. He considered going in to have a look around, but Draco and Astoria were heading past the joke shop and towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry and Daphne started to follow the other couple when a tall red headed young man stepped out onto the porch wearing an apron with the trademarked winged triple W insignia.

"Still hanging out with Death Eater snakes, Harry?" called out Ron, much too loudly for anyone's taste.

Harry started to turn to face his former best mate. Daphne gently grabbed a hold of his arm and whispered a pleading "don't, it's not worth it."

Draco and Astoria stopped and looked back at Ron.

"No, Ron," answered Harry trying to maintain a jovial attitude, "I am just spending the day with some good friends."

Ron sneered and turned to Draco. "So, what did you do? Poison him? Use some mind control spell or potion on him to make Harry turn on his friends?"

Harry looked at Draco who rolled his eyes in response to the taunting from Ron. Harry was glad to see Draco not responding to the bait.

"Ronald, stop now, before you make a fool of yourself," chided Harry.

Ron spun back to face Harry and then stepped off of the porch as he approached his former friend. "So, you actually bought into Dumbledore's load of shite that everyone can be saved? I remember how much you hated Malfoy in school. What happened to you? Ever since you dumped my sister you seem to have gone dark."

Harry sighed. "I have not gone dark. And Draco has changed. But you just won't see that. Go back inside Ronald, you don't need to do this."

"Are you dismissing me?" yelled Ron. "You think you're too good for your old friends, too good for my sister. Well, I know you Potter. You're so good. Not if you're willing to sully yourself by hanging out with a tramp like Greengrass."

Harry's face grew stern as he tried to control his anger. "I told you not to go there. You don't know Daphne. Leave her out of this."

Daphne noted that Harry was clenching his fists.

Ron continued with his ranting and turned towards Draco. "And I bet it was you, ferret, who got me kicked out of Auror training. What lies did you tell them?"

"I said nothing to anyone, Weasley," said Draco, trying to remain calm, but he had gently pushed Astoria behind him as he was not sure just what Ron might end up doing. "You got yourself kicked out of school for your own bad grades," he added quietly, trying not to let anyone else hear their comments.

"I'm sure that's what you want everyone to think," snapped Ron, raising his voice louder, ignoring the growing crowd that was gathering. "You filthy Slytherin scum. Go ahead and use that Greengrass whore, but you all need to leave Harry alone."

"That's enough, Ronald," Harry interjected harshly. "I can decide who I spend time with. Some of us have grown up since we left school, but apparently some of us haven't."

Ron glared at Harry. "Have you gone round the twist? Or are you just hanging out with that slut beside you because she puts out? She is quite a looker, isn't she. Maybe I'd warm up to her if I got a chance with her."

Harry's eyes grew cold. "Ron, that is more than enough. You will not attack people you do not even know. If you're mad at me because I broke up with your sister, fine, be mad at me. We were over as a couple long before I officially ended it. And that was before I ever really met Daphne."

Ron took a step closer to Harry. "You don't tell me when it's enough. You thought you could boss me around at Neville's, you thought you could tell me what to do all throughout school. But who was always there for you? Who was there every time you needed someone?"

Harry tried to suppress a laugh. "Well, it sure wasn't you Ron. It was Hermione, always Hermione."

"And where is she now?" snapped Ron. "That ungrateful tart left you too."

"Don't speak of her that way, Ronald," warned Harry.

"I can speak of her anyway I please. You must like cheap useless women if you defend Granger and hang out with this slag," continued Ron as he pointed at Daphne.

Harry turned his nose up as Ron was getting in his face. "Ron, are you drunk? It's not even twelve noon!"

"What's it to you?" screamed Ron as he moved closer to Harry, bumping him with his chest. "Oh, you're the bloody chosen one, you can do anything you want. You get all the girls, all of the fame, and leave what for everyone else? Nothing. Maybe I should just take a turn with your pathetic girlfriend here so I can find out what its like to be Harry Freaking Potter, find out what its like to shag a snake. They must be pretty easy if they will hang out with the likes of you and Malfoy."

Harry's eyes narrowed. His fist tightened even more.

"Maybe she'd like being with a real man, a real wizard," Ron spat in Harry's face.

Harry had put up with more than he wanted to. He reached his hand back to throw a punch at Ron. But his arm was stopped. Draco had grabbed Harry's fist. "Don't do it mate," he said quietly. "He's not worth it. He's drunk in public, you don't need to let him goad you like this." Draco inserted himself between Harry and Ron.

Harry growled at Draco who still had his fist held tightly. "I will not let him speak like that about Daphne. Or Astoria."

Draco looked at him sympathetically. "The Weasel is not worth it Harry. He's dunk. Tomorrow he'll be sober, maybe. But he'll still be an idiot. And what will you have if you hit him? Besides a sore hand that is?" Draco added with a sly smile.

Draco felt Harry's arm start to relax. Then he felt himself falling into Harry after he was pushed from behind. Draco spun around and glared at Ron. "Back off Weasel," said Draco with a calm but determined tone that seemed unusual from the former self styled prince of Slytherin. "Next time, I won't stop Harry. You're pathetic. Go back to your hole. Now! And leave Harry and whoever he wants to spend his time with alone."

Draco did not wait for a response as he turned away from Ron and walked back to where Astoria was standing at the edge of the crowd that had formed around them. Ron shook with anger. He reached to pull out his wand, determined to hex Draco from behind. Then an Auror stepped our from the crowd and quickly shouted "Expelliarmus!" and Ron's wand went flying out of his hand as he was knocked backwards onto the ground. A startled Ron jumped back up to yell at Harry and came face to face with the Auror.

"Is there a problem here, Mr. Weasley?" asked the Auror.

Ron gulped as he looked at the crowd that now surrounded them. "No," he stuttered, "no, everything is just fine."

The Auror turned to Harry as he asked, "Is everything okay here, Mr. Potter?"

"We're fine, thank you sir," answered Harry who was visibly calmer after Draco had intervened. Harry turned to Daphne who was obviously shaken up by the whole confrontation. He pulled her into a hug and then walked over to join Draco and her sister. "Let's go somewhere quiet, away form this crowd, where we can get some lunch," he said, not waiting for a response as he lead the way through the myriad of onlookers.

The foursome rejoined to a nearby restaurant, finding a quiet table in a corner away from most of the prying eyes. Harry was feeling as though he was still under a microscope so he cast some privacy charms around their table that would prevent others from listening in to their conversation, but not interfere with their waitress from coming and taking their orders.

As the group began to relax, they talked briefly about the encounter with the enraged Weasley. Astoria wondered aloud just what would have caused Ron to be so bold as to come out of his brother's shop and verbally attack Harry that way. Harry shrugged his shoulders, indicating he was unsure of the reasons behind his behaviour. Draco scoffed at Harry's rebuff to Astoria's question.

"Come on Scarhead," Draco said kindly, "we all know that there was something behind what he said to you. The Weasel may be a royal twit, but he is not a complete idiot. So, just tell us what really happened."

Harry scowled. He looked at Draco as he answered, "There is nothing to tell really. I already told you about her breaking up with Ron because he wanted her to be a little Molly clone. She left for Australia to find her parents. That was about a year and a half ago."

Astoria snorted. "Don't pull that with us, or at least not Daphne. You three were the Golden Trio. You practically lived together for the entire year you were on the run. Yes, we all heard how Ron left you for a while, but Hermione stayed with you. She always did. We all saw it. What no one ever understood was why you two never dated." She paused as she noted the discomfort on his face. "Or did you?" she asked quietly.

Daphne raised an eyebrow as she looked at Harry expectantly. They all waited for Harry's answer. "No, we never dated. She was like a sister to me," he answered, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself more than the others.

Daphne reached out and gently took his hand. "Harry, please don't take any offence in what I am about to say, but how would you know what it is like to have a sister? You told me a little of your time at Hogwarts, but you don't talk about your time before that. We all know that the Boy-Who-Lived was an only child, and we all have read that you were raised by muggle relatives."

Harry looked at her as he tried to draw his hand away. Daphne tried to hold on, but as the waitress came by and delivered them the drinks they had ordered, Harry took the opportunity to remove his hand from hers. Quickly he grabbed the bottle of butter beer and took a drink.

Harry stared at the bottle in his hand, fully aware that three pairs of eyes were fixed on him. After a couple of minutes in silence he looked up at Daphne. "It's complicated," he said quietly. Then he shook his head. "No, it's nothing like what you're probably thinking. We were close friends. Best mates, if a guy and a girl can be best mates. She was one of my first true friends. From before it mattered if we were boys and girls. By the time we got to the age of thinking about boyfriends and girlfriends we were comfortable as friends. Then she started to date Ron. Then we had our year on the run, preparing to take on Tom Riddle. Then Ron left us. It was awkward at times." He paused and looked at Draco, "No, nothing happened, really." Harry let out a slow sigh. "Then the war was over, and Ron and Hermione had their final row, and she left."

Daphne reached out with her hand and gently held his chin and directed his head to face her. "What happened between the time she had her break up with Ron and her leaving for Australia."

Harry looked away from Daphne. "Nothing happened."

Draco nearly spit out his butter beer that he was drinking. "You are such a terrible liar, Scarhead."

Harry turned and faced Draco, but he did not say anything.

Draco shook his head. "I know you and your reactions and your mannerisms about as well as anybody, after all, who was constantly on your case for six years? I've watched you, and I know you can't lie. Or at least, not convincingly. Daphne's a big girl, You don't need to hide anything from her." There was a tense moment of quiet that Draco broke when he added, "Or do you?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing happened between us. We spoke," he admitted, "probably too briefly for either one of us, but she was an emotional wreck. She asked what was to become of us after the time we spent together." Harry paused and then he slowly began to speak. "We spoke of our friendship, I told her she was like a sister to me…" He hesitated, and then added, "And then she left for Australia."

Astoria looked at Harry and then she asked, "So at what point in all of that nothing happened did you kiss her?"

Daphne turned to her sister, "Where did you get that idea from?" she demanded.

The younger Greengrass simply stated "It's written all over his facial expression, every time he says nothing happened. Maybe it was nothing to you, Potter, but it sure must have been something to her. Tell me, when did she last write to you? When did you last write to her?"

There was no answer from Harry.

Daphne looked from Astoria, to Harry and back again. Harry placed his butter beer back on the table and looked at Daphne. "I lost a friend, a very good friend, when she left. I probably should have written her. But I didn't want a girlfriend at the time; I thought I had one in Ginny." He rubbed his eyes slightly and then he turned to Daphne. "I've messed up every relationship I have ever had with a girl, well, all but one." He waited a moment and then he added, "Well, at least I hope I haven't messed up this one."

Daphne reached over and squeezed his hand, if they weren't sitting in a restaurant with the meal about to be served she thought she would jump up and snog him silly. "If you keep up those ridiculous hours with your research, you will mess this one up." Then she leaned over and gave him kiss on the cheek.

"Save it for later, Greengrass," muttered Draco.

* * *

Harry had enjoyed the rest of his weekend relaxing. Daphne had refrained from asking him about where he was in regard to the progress he was making as she wanted him to have some real down time as she knew how many long hours he had been spending on his research.

By Wednesday of the following week after his day spent with Daphne, Draco and Astoria he was nearly done with his research. He reviewed his notes with Professor Shaw on the translations on the various descriptions that Merlin had made about what was needed to be able to control a dragon.

He returned home that evening feeling relaxed and exhausted. He went to his study as he started to map out what was needed. He was making a final summary of his notes to help him prepare for the task of acquiring what was needed. Mal, his senior house elf, popped into the study and anxiously bounced on his toes in front of Harry's desk. Harry looked up at the sound of the elf apparating and could barely see the top of the elf's head due to he piles of papers stacked up along the edge.

"Yes, Mal," acknowledged Harry, "what has you all excited this evening?"

"Master Harry's Miss Daphne has arrived sir," he said with obvious excitement. "Should I show her up to the study sir? Or will you be joining her downstairs in the sitting room?"

"I'll be right down," said Harry with a grin. He grabbed his final page of notes and quickly left his office to see his girlfriend.

As Harry walked into the room Daphne admired the handsome young man. He looked so much better after getting some good rest and some real food over the previous weekend. She thought he looked quite dashing with the longer hair as he was letting it grow out. She smiled as he approached and have her a big hug.

"I did it," he exclaimed.

Daphne raised and eyebrow at this statement and simply stated, "Oh?"

:"I have found the information from Merlin's notes. I found his secrets to taming a dragon." Harry's excitement was contagious.

Daphne kissed him on the cheek for congratulations. "So, how soon can you get this done? Is it a spell? A potion?"

Harry's expression softened measurably… "Well, it requires the making of a special magical cloak."

Daphne narrowed her eyes. "How special?"

"Well, it requires the hide of a griffon, the tail feathers of thunderbird, and for protection a serum made from the venom of a chimera and the tears of a unicorn." Harry realised as he stated the list of ingredients that there were several problems, including finding the creatures from which to obtain the items and then actually procuring those items.

Daphne frowned as she looked at him. "Okay Merlin junior, where will you find those creatures and just how do you plan on going about this?"

Harry blushed a little, "I'm still working on that part."

Daphne shook her head, "So, how many more weeks of preparation for this part?" she asked as a sour expression came over her face.

Harry slumped down into one of the large chairs in the room. "Well, I have worked out the general locations of where I need to find the creatures. Actually finding them and obtaining the necessary ingredients, I am still working on that."

Daphne slid onto his lap and kissed him on the lips. "That doesn't sound so hard now, you're nearly there. Just find a unicorn, which should be the easy part. Then we can…"

Harry cut her off. "No, it's not that easy. What I was able to deduce from Merlin's notes is that the objects need to be obtained in the proper order. I need to have the griffon hide to protect me from the thunderbird. I have to have the hide and the feather for protection from the chimera. The unicorn tears need to be immediately mixed with the venom, so that has to be obtained last." Harry let of a long sigh.

"So where do we find a griffon?" she asked.

Harry looked at her with a stern gaze that made Daphne feel uncomfortable."Not we, but I, I need to do this."

Daphne's eyes narrowed as she felt the sting of his words. "What? You are not doing this all alone," she stated forcefully.

"It is too dangerous for me to ask anyone to help. This is for me, to complete what I owe the goblins, I can't ask anyone to help me." Harry turned away from her hard stare.

Daphne slapped him lightly on the side of his face. "You spent seven years getting in and out of trouble on untold adventures, always with Hermione, and often with Ron. You cannot and you will not do this on your own."

Harry tried to protest.

"No, you do not get to tell me I can't come and help you." Harry noted there were tears forming in her eyes. "My life with you is on hold until you free yourself from the goblins. Do you think I am just going to wait around while you travel who knows where and facing who knows what sort of dangers?"

"Hey," protested Harry, "I've faced a Cerberus, a basilisk, dementors, Umbridge and the Dark Lord. How tough can this be?"

"Harry Potter, you are such a prat. You faced known of those alone." She quieted him with a severe stare when he tried to interrupt. "You told me yourself you had Hermione and Ron with you when you had to sneak past the three headed dog. You had the sorting hat and Fawkes give you help with the basilisk. You had Hermione with you when you chased off the dementors. You have not been a solo act and I will not let you foolishly try and become one now?"

Harry understood that he did not stand any chance against her arguments at this time. He leaned his forehead gently against hers, as he surrendered to her arguments. "Fine, I can tell that there is no way I am going to win this argument with you…"

"You learn quickly, Potter," teased Daphne. She kissed him hard on the lips and after a minute when she broke off the kiss, she asked him, "So, where do we start?"

"Well, it appears that the most reliable reporting of a golden griffon would be somewhere in Australia. We'd have to do a series of international port keys to make our way there. Then we would have to contact the ministry of magic, speak with someone in their department of magical creatures before we begin our search."

"So, you have been doing your preparation for this, haven't you," commented Daphne as she was truly impressed. She noted him blush slightly and then she added, "Are you sure that is the only place to find a griffon? Or are there other reasons you're heading," she caught herself and then rephrased her question, "are there other reasons we are heading to Australia?"

Harry gave her a confused look.

She had closed her eyes as she studied his expression. "We're heading to Australia, where Hermione is. Are you sure that has nothing to do with this?"

Harry became defensive, "Yes, I am sure. I hadn't even thought of it. Or I haven't thought it was a big deal. Australia is a big country. She is probably not even there anymore. We're going to find the right department, get the clearance we need to obtain the griffon hide, and then leave. I do not see how there is anyway I could possibly run into Hermione while I am, or we are there…"

* * *

Harry and Daphne had travelled for a couple of days to reach their destination in Sydney, Australia. Harry had actually hoped to get there more quickly, but Daphne insisted that he should take some time to visit, even if it was briefly in the areas where they made their international port key transfers. Harry thought that it seemed similar to muggles travelling via airplanes, what with a central destination hall and different "gates" for the wizards and witches to head through depending on their destination. The first short trip had been from London to Rome. Harry had previously been shopping in Florence with Daphne, but he had never seen the sites around Rome before. Then they made a short stay in Constantinople. Harry was surprised that they did not refer to the city as Istanbul, but Daphne had explained that the international magical port key authority had named the locations centuries ago, before the fall of the Byzantine Empire, and as stubborn as wizards could be, they just refused to change the name. After they made a tour of the bazaar in magical Constantinople, they then travelled to Bangkok before they finally had arrived in Sydney.

The travel had been irritating to Harry as he felt the pull on his navel that was customary with typical port keys was nothing compared to the wrenching of the entire body as he felt with the international port key travel. Harry was glad that they were done with that method of travelling, at least for a little while. As they exited the magical customs area, Harry and Daphne began to look around.

"Well, we should get ourselves settled in the hotel first," commented Daphne. "Then we can head to the Ministry of Magic and look up the Department of Magical Creatures."

"Sounds like a splendid plan to me," agreed Harry, "especially if there are no more port keys to sue for a while."

The two had checked into a suite at the hotel. Harry had requested the large room so that he could at least have a couch to sleep on, or a sofa bed, as he was not wanting to impose upon his girlfriend. Daphne admired his nobility, and she found it hard to argue with his chivalry so she relented.

After a couple of hours of relaxing and getting settled, the young couple made their way into the magical section of Sydney and were easily directed to the Ministry of Magic. Harry was surprised by the similarities to the Ministry building in London, although it seemed newer and cleaner and fresher. There was no large statue in the entryway such as was found in England, but that was replaced by a large and elegant fountain. They made their way to a receptionist and questioned the young witch sitting at the desk as to where they would be able to find the Department of Magical Creatures. She smiled pleasantly as she directed them to the elevators and instructed Harry and Daphne to head to the seventh floor. She stared at Harry for a moment as she tried to determine if he looked familiar. Harry smiled pleasantly back at her as he wondered if he should have used a disillusionment charm, but Daphne had warned against such an action as the Ministry of Magic would be able to detect such a charm and it might appear suspicious. As it was, he was glad to be wearing the bandana that covered his scar, and that in turn was covered by his wide brimmed hat.

Daphne took Harry by the arm and directed him towards the elevators. They arrived on the seventh floor and wound their way through the corridors until they found they found the door that was labeled 'Department of Magical Creatures, Gianna Contadino, Director'.

Daphne turned to Harry, "Well, looks like we found the right place."

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he opened the door. Inside they found a small waiting room and a receptionist sitting behind the desk. Harry was not expecting to see a young man sitting behind the desk.

"How may I help you today?" he asked.

Harry looked at the name plate on the desk, then he answered, "Sure, Tom is it? Well, Mr. Watson, we are here to talk to your director about griffons. Is she available?"

Tom Watson looked at the tall young man whose face was partially obscured by his wide brimmed hat, and then at the very lovely blonde witch who was standing at his side. "Do you have an appointment with Ms. Contadino?" he asked stiffly.

"Well, no we do not, but we were hoping that we could speak with her, as I understand that there are golden griffons in Australia," answered Harry.

Daphne gave the young man a sultry smile and added, "It would be most helpful if we could speak with your director, if you could help us out with that, Tom."

Harry turned and looked at Daphne, trying not to let his mouth hang open too much at her statement. Behind him he heard the young man say, "Sure, miss, I'll go see if she's available." He then stood up and walked down the hall behind him to his left.

Daphne turned to Harry and smiled wryly. "Hey, it worked, so don't give me that look." Then she leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek.

A couple of minutes later, Tom Watson returned. "The director can see you, she is working on clearing a space in her schedule. You can see her in a few minutes, why don't you please have a seat."

Harry and Daphne sat down as Daphne smirked at Harry. "I told you," she whispered.

Several minutes later a small note flew down the hall from the direction of the director's office and landed on the receptionist's desk. Mr. Watson quickly opened it and then he looked over at Harry and Daphne as he caught their attention with a quick cough. "The director can see you now."

Harry and Daphne stood up, hand in hand. Daphne spoke to Tom with a demure smile, "Oh, don't get up, I am sure we can find the office. Just down this hall, right?" Tom replied with a nod and a blush.

As they started down the hall, Harry asked in a hushed tone, "And just what was all of that?"

Daphne smiled and whispered back, "Just trying to help us along, and as you should be able to tell, it is working."

Harry mumbled an unintelligible reply.

They arrived at the door labeled 'Director.' Harry reached out and grasped the door knob as he pulled the door open allowing Daphne to enter before him. Daphne stepped into the office and looked up at the woman sitting behind the desk. The woman had light brown hair with gentle waves, pulled back behind her head in a simple pony tail. Daphne stared for a moment, thinking that there was something oddly familiar about her.

...

_Gianna Contadino looked up from her desk as the door was pulled open. She noticed a blonde woman walk in who was somehow quite familiar but also someone who definitely seemed out of place to be walking into her office. She stared at the woman as her mind raced trying to place the face. Then she noted another figure stepping in from the hall from behind the door. A tall thin man with a wide brimmed hat which shadowed his face. As he stepped in he took the hand of the blonde woman as he turned to face her, noting that she had stopped just inside the doorway. The man noted that his companion was staring straight ahead. The man turned around to fully face the director sitting behind the desk. She noted the green eyes. Only one person had such piercing green eyes._

...

Harry had walked into the room and took Daphne's hand, but he then noted that she was just gaping ahead. Harry turned and looked at the woman sitting behind the desk who appeared to be staring at Daphne. Then he noted her turn her gaze onto him. Harry immediately noted the chocolate brown eyes, which at first seemed odd to him as they did not match the hair on the woman who was sitting at the desk. As he stared into her eyes, he noted she was staring back into his eyes.

"Hermione?" he asked quietly, but completely surprised.

"Harry?" she nearly shrieked, "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" She quickly placed her hand over her gaping mouth as she was feeling overwhelmed by the emotions that were coursing through her, causing her mind to stop working properly.

* * *

**AN: For clarification, the paragraph in italics is meant to be from the perspective of Gianna Contadino….**

**another AN: I try to reply to all who leave reviews/comments - if you leave an anonymous review, then I cannot reply directly to it; if you have personal messaging turned off, then I still cannot reply to your comments. A recent anonymous reviewer had some questions about Hermione's role in the story going forward...all I can say right now is you will have to be patient...**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry for the longer than usual time for posting, and for the shorter than usual chapter. Updates will come when I can get around to them. Life, work, family all call for my attention, and writing doesn't always get the priority. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story…..Thanks for all of the continued comments, feedback and encouragement. **

* * *

From Chapter 7:

_Harry had walked into the room and took Daphne's hand, but he then noted that she was just gaping ahead. Harry turned and looked at the woman sitting behind the desk who appeared to be staring at Daphne. Then he noted her turn her gaze onto him. Harry immediately noted the chocolate brown eyes, which at first seemed odd to him as they did not match the hair on the woman who was sitting at the desk. As he stared into her eyes, he noted she was staring back into his eyes._

"_Hermione?" he asked quietly, but completely surprised._

"_Harry?" she nearly shrieked, "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" She quickly placed he hand over her gaping mouth as she was feeling overwhelmed by the emotions that were coursing through her, causing her mind to stop working properly._

Harry stared at his best friend whom he had not seen in years in a stunned silence. Daphne still covered her mouth with her hand as she looked back and forth between Harry and Hermione.

Hermione looked from Harry to Daphne and back to Harry. Harry was still in shock. Hermione's mind was racing even though she was also in shock and she could tell that Harry was from his reaction. Finally she faced the blonde woman standing next to Harry, she was sure she recognised her from Hogwarts.

"Greengrass, isn't it?" she asked. "Daphne, right?"

Daphne simply nodded.

Harry looked at the name plate on Hermione's desk and then back at Hermione. "Who is Gianna Contadino?" he asked, and then continued with a garage of questions, "What are you doing here? The head of the Australian Department of Magical Creatures? Why didn't you ever write?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "I think we all better sit down. I'm sure we all have plenty of questions." She turned and glared at Daphne, who was surprised by the looks she was receiving from Hermione.

Daphne spoke up, "That sounds like a great idea. Got any fire whiskey to help ease the tension?" she added with a smirk.

Hermione just said, "No," in response to Daphne as she took her seat behind her desk. Facing Harry, she asked, "Why are you here? You're the one inquiring about griffons?"

Harry took a deep breath and waved his hand as he dismissed her question. "Later, I'll talk to you about that later. Tell me, 'Mione, how did you end up here, and what is it with this Gianna Contadino? You didn't get married did you?"

Hermione quickly realised that to get any further she needed to catch Harry up on what she had been doing. "Well, if you're not in a rush I suppose I could tell you." She glanced between Harry and Daphne, obviously uncomfortable that Harry was accompanied by someone; not just someone, but a woman; and not just a woman but a woman who was from the house of Slytherin. "And when I am done, you need to tell me how you ended up here in my office."

Harry nodded.

Hermione continued, "And please enlighten me as to your traveling partner and you ended up coming here together." Daphne was still feeling quite uncomfortable in the room.

"Fair enough," said Harry. He reached over to wear Daphne was sitting next to him and grasped her hand lightly. "Hermione, I would like to introduce to you my girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass. Daphne, I am sure you remember our classmate from Hogwarts and my best friend, Hermione Granger."

Daphne smiled at Hermione, feeling comforted that Harry had taken her hand and proud that she had been introduced as his girlfriend. She was trying not to feel jealous, but after all, she thought to herself, Harry's best friend for most of the past 9 years has been a girl. A girl who was now quite an attractive young woman she noted.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the introduction of Daphne. She noted the tension in Daphne's face and shoulders release somewhat as Harry took her hand and spoke about her. She quickly understood that Harry was very comfortable around this woman. Hermione then looked down at the notepad which was just off to her right on her desk. "Well, where should I begin?" she asked rhetorically. "You know I was heading to Australia to try and find my parents the day we parted." She hesitated as she thought about that day, about where they both were at that time in their lives. She had just split with Ron, and Harry was dating Ginny. She quickly decided that this was not the time to ask about that. "I was scared to come here. Scared of what I would or would not find. Scared to be known as Hermione Granger, part of the Golden Trio, best friend to Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the Vanquisher-of-Voldemort. That's what they call you down here in the papers anyways. You've done a good job of staying out of the news lately."

Harry nodded again, "I try, really I do, despite what Draco claims."

Hermione made a mental note, she was surprised that he had referred to one of his enemies from their days in school by his first name. She wondered just how long had she really been gone from magical England.

"As I was saying, I didn't want the fame. Also, as my parents wouldn't recognise me unless I could reverse the obligation charm, I didn't really need to use my name. I had some help from the Italian Ministry of Magic as I made my way towards Australia. They found it oddly exciting to secretly have one of the more famous witches from England become a citizen of Magical Italy, and were more than happy to help out with identification for me under this assumed name."

Daphne looked at her name plate and then back at Hermione. "Where does the Gianna come from?" she asked. Harry just had a confused expression as he looked between the two women.

"Hermione _Jean_ Granger," she said simply as that explained everything. Harry was still puzzled.

Daphne shook her head slightly and then gently squeezed Harry's hand to get his attention. When he turned to look at her again she quietly stated, "Jean, it's Italian version is Gianna. And Contadino is farmer. Granger and Farmer are similar titles or names in English." She turned to Hermione again and leaned closer, almost conspiratorially, "And no one here ever figured out that you are THE Hermione Granger?"

Hermione smiled at Daphne. At least Harry found a smart one, she thought to her self. She leaned towards Daphne, "With changing the name to Italian, having Italian paper work and changing the hairstyle, it seems I can fool quite a number of people."

Harry watched as the two women spoke as if they had long been best friends. A shiver ran through him as he considered the possible ramifications of such a friendship. He then cleared his throat to draw Hermione's attention. "So, did you find your parents?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione's face changed from a smile to a hard frown."Yes," she said, obviously frustrated, "but I have not been able to reverse the obliviation. I have tried a few times, I dare not try again." Harry noted to wetness forming in the corners of her eyes, but he had no words of comfort to offer her.

Hermione gave a forced smile as she turned to Harry, "So, why did you come all the way to Australia to speak with the Department of Magical Creatures? I'm quite sure that Hagrid did not send you on a mission to bring back some wild and exotic creature." Her smile slipped to an expression of concern, "He didn't, did he? By Merlin's Beard, I thought for a moment there you might be up to something foolish like that." Hermione started to smile. Then she noted that Harry was not smiling.

"I need the hide from a griffon. A golden griffon," Harry said calmly and with such seriousness it gave Hermione a chill. "Do you know where I could find one?"

Hermione looked to Daphne for confirmation of this request. Seeing nothing in Daphne's expression to give her any reason to doubt Harry's sincerity, she answered simply, "You need the hide of a griffon? And just how the bloody hell do you think you can get one?"

"You know me, 'Mione," he replied with a slight grin, "I tend to do best when I rush in without a plan. Improvisation. It usually works out pretty well for me."

"It's nearly gotten you killed more times than I want to remember," she said feeling a little horrified. "Why not just go attack a dragon while you're at it."

Harry didn't react to her comment other than simply saying, "Well, I'll be getting around to that. But I need the griffon hide first."

Hermione's mind raced as she tried to understand fully what Harry was saying. After all, he had come all the way to Australia, and he did not seem to be in a joking mood. He hadn't even expected to find her here. She briefly considered talking him out of this crazy idea. "Well, there are rumours of a griffon in northern Australia terrorising some locals. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet."

Harry looked to Daphne and smiled. Turning back to Hermione he spoke as a slight smile crossed his face, "Ms. Contadino, I would like permission from the Australian Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Creatures to be able to hunt a griffon."

Hermione bit her lip. "You can't just go round killing creatures Harry, this department is set up for their protection." She felt torn as she gave the approved ministry answer to such a request, or at least her version of it.

Harry was surprised by the stock answer she had given him. "Can we at least go and investigate? You already mentioned that there were reports of a griffon terrorising locals. I would presume that there is some sort of clause that allows for the ridding of a magical creature that is causing harm."

Hermione never liked the idea of hurting another a creature and she had taken her post to help protect magical creatures, something she did not think she would really be given the chance to do back in England. She sighed as she considered Harry's point. "Well, yes, there is such a clause. But you can't just do this alone. You need to have a representative from the department with you. To document any claims from the locals and to make sure that policies are followed."

Harry's eyes twinkled slightly as he responded to Hermione, "So, how soon can you leave this little office to take us to Northern Australia?"

Hermione sighed, "I'll have to make arrangements for covering the office. Probably a couple of days to get everything in place."

* * *

Harry and Daphne returned to their hotel and retreated to their suite. They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Daphne spoke. "So, you found your best friend. I can hardly believe it." Harry turned to face her, but she was not looking at him, she was staring at a modern art painting hanging on the wall, avoiding Harry's gaze. "So, what does this mean for us, Harry?" she asked, her voice strained.

Harry sighed and he moved to sit next to Daphne, and gently placed his hand into hers. "What does this mean for us," he repeated her question, "it means nothing to us, it doesn't affect us. Hermione is my friend. You are my girlfriend and that is not changing."

Daphne turned and looked at him, she had tears in her eyes. Harry put is arm around her. "Daphne, you were there and walked into my life when things were pretty down for me. And that means so much to me."

Daphne wiped a tear from her eye, "But she was with you for all of your adventures, she was with you throughout the war. She's been your support for so much longer, since before we knew each other."

Harry laughed slightly, "I've known who you are since first year." He paused as he let that sink in for a moment. "But we did only start to get to know each other the end of last year. But that's fine, and probably for the best."

Daphne raised an eyebrow as she turned to face him. Harry continued, "We could not have been friends at school. Not with Draco and I antagonising each other so much. Not with the war brewing. Not with the house rivalries."

Daphne reached up and cupped the side of his face with her hand. She started to say something but Harry silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Hey, I'm not done yet," he added. "But I know that you're not with me because you're a fan girl, you're not with me because I am the Boy-Who-Lived. You're not with me based on some idealised school girl crush."

Daphne melted into his arms. "I don't know what caused me to doubt us," she sighed. She turned and gave Harry a quick kiss on his lips. "I did have several classes with her in school," she said softly, "it's not like we don't know each other at all. But with the house rivalries, as you pointed out, we really didn't talk much."

Harry hugged her gently, and then he said, "Let's go get some lunch."

* * *

The next day they met with Hermione at her office as she had contacted them at their hotel. She had arranged for them all to travel to Northern Australia. The reports her office had received indicated that there were multiple reports of a giant bird or flying beast in the MacDonnell range. The Australian Ministry of Magic was easily convinced by one Gianna Contadino of the importance of making the area safe, not only for magicals but for the muggles and the aboriginal tribes in the area as well. The department was supporting this endeavour and was supplying them with a Land Rover to take them into the area.

It would be at least a 2 day drive to get from Sydney to Alice Springs, the closest large town to Mount Zeil, which was in the area where the griffons were reported. Along the drive, Hermione and Daphne had the opportunity to speak and get to know each other better. Hermione also gave Harry a little more detail into her time spent in Australia. Harry wondered silently why she had never found a boyfriend while she was there, but he did want to get into her personal life if she was not about to offer such information on her own accord.

During the second long day of driving across the Outback, Hermione asked Harry what his plans were, just how was he planning to capture or kill a griffon. She had listened to Harry's explanation of what he had learned from studying in the secret library that he needed the hide of a griffon. But if it was so valuable due to how sturdy it was and how resistant it naturally was to magic, then how could Harry expect to capture or kill such a creature. Harry knew that he would have to have more of a plan than just to try develop one on the fly. He suggested various spells that might help it.

Blasting hexes — but these probably wouldn't work due to the inherent magical protection of the griffon's hide.

Stunning spells — again, impractical due to magical resistance, and it would still only leave you with a temporarily incapacitated griffon at best, a genuinely angry one at worst.

Slicing or cutting spells — either they would not be strong enough to injure the animal due to their natural protection or such spells would damage the hide which they need as intact as possible.

The killing curses — despite being illegal, they wondered if it would actually have any effect on such a creature.

Binding hexes — the trio theorised that these would only slow down the griffon at best or possibly anger it.

Harry and Daphne and Hermione shared ideas back and forth for most of the second day of their travel. Arriving in the town of Alice Springs, they checked into rooms at the Lassiter Hotel Casino. Harry had decided to stay there, assuming that the accommodations would be nicer than many of their other options. Harry was intrigued as he heard people talking about the upcoming Camel Cup that was to take place in July. While it sounded like a fun time, Harry truly hoped that he would be done with his mission here in Australia long before that would be happening.

They trio settled into the rooms they had arranged, and planned to get an early start in the morning. They took off, heading west towards Mount Zeil, the tallest mountain in the MacDonnell range and a common place for tourists to go hiking. As they drove across the red sand and stone of the desert leading up to the mountains, they continued to discuss what their options would be if they were able to find the griffon. As they got closer to the mountains they came across a small group of aboriginal hunters. Hermione explained that they were probably from the Western Aranda people. Harry noted that they carried a type of spear which also had a long thin stick that was used to launch the wooden weapon. He made a mental note of their weapons as they continued on into the mountains. The mountains were quite different from what he was used to seeing, as there were very few trees in the rocky desert terrain.

Eventually they pulled the Land Rover to a stop and they began to explore the area on foot. Hermione had a map that indicated where the various reported sitings of the griffons had been made. They would have to travel north along the ridges of the mountains for a couple of miles to come across the area where they had hoped to find the creatures. The trio started out on their trek through the desert hills, hoping that they would be able to find their quarry soon. They had walked for about one hour when they came down into a ravine. At the bottom of the ravine they found what looked to be a damaged and abandoned tent, and the campsite had been recently vacated. Looking around the area the three of them tried to find clues as to what had happened. Harry pointed out that the tent had several long gashes in the material. Hermione noted that the footprints in the dust seemed to be recent and they started to try and track what direction they had gone off in, and soon found a trail that wound around some rocks and towards a cave in the side of the ravine. It did not take them long to find a young couple who were terrified and hiding in the small cave. The young people were initially hesitant to explain to the three why they were hiding as they felt that no one would believe their story of a giant bird like lion that flew out of the sky and attacked had driven up from Sydney several days ago, and the creature had flown down and taken their small dog with it, and they feared that the dog was a small meal for the monster that had grabbed it.

Hermione looked at Harry. "Well, that story may be enough to persuade the ministry to allow you to do what ever you need to with the griffon. It has attacked muggles, and it will probably continue to do so until we stop it."

Daphne sighed, "But we still don't have a way to catch it yet."

Harry considered the situation. He turned to the young couple and he asked them if they noted which way the creature had flown off with their dog. They had indicated that it had headed north and followed the edge of the mountain. Harry looked to the two women with him. "Well, we head north and follow where it went."

Daphne looked at Hermione and that back to Harry. "We still do not have a plan."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "That small detail has not stopped him before."

Harry began to walk out of the ravine, heading north, when he replied smugly without turning back to face the two, "I'm working on it."

They walked for fifteen more minutes and they came across an area where they saw a cliff with an overhang. Harry pointed out the area ahead of them and wondered out loud if that might be where the griffon was nesting. The three started to make there way closer to the cliff when Harry suddenly stopped and held out his hand indicating for them all to be quiet. He turned slowly and he pointed to an area behind some large boulders. Hermione gave him a quizzical look. Harry spoke softly as he told her he heard something in the direction where he had indicated. The three stayed still but did not hear any further sounds. Harry decided to start heading towards the large boulders. As he turned the corner he was startled as he came across three Aborigine hunters. The men were carrying spears and seemed surprised to see Harry and his companions.

One of the hunters looked at them and spoke, "This is a very dangerous place, you should leave now."

Harry smiled in response. "I think we may be after the same thing."

The second hunter laughed, "But you do not have any weapons. You are foolish to be out here, unprepared."

Hermione stepped forward and explained that she was from the Australian Department of Wildlife and she was here to investigate reports of a large creature bothering locals and tourists.

The third man laughed at her now. "There are no drop bears in these parts. You really should not be here."

Harry looked at the three who seemed to be heading towards the cliff. "So, you plan to try and kill the griffon?" he asked boldly. "The one living over by that cliff," he added pointing to the side of the mountain behind where he was standing.

The first man seemed surprised by Harry. "You know of this and you come here unprepared. You are very foolish indeed."

"What do you plan to do with the griffon if you even catch it?" he asked the man, ignoring the statement.

"We plan to bring it back to our people, and have a feast," answered the third man.

Harry smiled at him, "I have a proposition for you. If we help you kill the beast, can we keep the hide, and you can keep everything else? Would that be fair?"

The three spoke amongst themselves in their native language then turned back to Harry. The first indicated that they would be okay with that.

Harry winked at Daphne, "I told you I was working on a plan."

The second Aranda spoke to Harry, "Just how do you think you can help us?"

Harry smiled, "You are planning to kill the beast with your spears. But the spears will not be able to pierce its hide."

The first nodded, "We have had several of our hunters try and kill it, but they have told us that. What can you do?"

"You have to aim for its head, or its eyes," Harry stated. "I can help make sure your spear finds the target."

The three men eyed Harry carefully, but said nothing further. They just started to continue their walking towards the cliff. After several minutes they were within 100 meters of the base of the cliff. There seemed to be a ledge underneath an overhang high up on the cliff. Harry and the others all presumed that the griffon could be nesting in that area.

The group looked at each other and then up to the overhang. Harry spoke to the group of hunters. "If you give me a moment, I can help make sure your spears will hit their targets. You need to aim for the eye of the griffon when it comes into range." They all nodded in agreement.

Harry waved his hand over the spears — performing wandless and silent magic. Hermione noted how he cast the spells and raised an eyebrow. Harry turned and spoke to Daphne. "We need to get the griffon to come out of hiding. Cast a blasting spell at the rocks above the cave up there, that might get its attention."

Daphne turned to Hermione, "Is he always a little crazy like this? Wanting to anger powerful magical creatures?"

"Usually he attacks them unarmed, or all by himself," she answered, "so this is about par for the course."

Harry spoke to everyone as he slipped his wand into his hand, "Everyone ready? Right, let's do this."

Daphne and Hermione drew their wands. The hunters prepared their spears. After a count to three, the two women shattered rocks at the edge of the cave with spells. The group watched as rocks and dust crashed down the side of the cliff. Harry tensed his arms as he awaited a response from whatever may be in the cave. After several minutes of no response, the group started to relax, as there was no sign of any activity.

"Maybe there is nothing up there," suggested Daphne.

"Maybe it was just scared by the blast," commented Hermione.

The three hunters stared at the two women and their wands. The one whom Harry assumed was their leader spoke. "Magic?" he asked.

Harry just nodded. The three hunters stepped a little farther away from Harry and the women as they muttered indistinctly. Harry realised that this may now complicate things if they have scared off the hunters. Harry tried to think of something to say to calm their fears. Hermione turned to look at the three men. She went to take a step closer to try and explain that they meant no harm to the hunters when she noted their eyes grow wide as they lifted their spears again. Hermione began to worry that they were mad at her, until she heard a loud screech behind her. Harry spun around and saw the griffon diving towards them, and he yelled at Hermione to duck. She dove into the dirt in front of her as a spear came flying over her head and bounced off of the chest of the massive creature.

Harry just stared at the massive golden beast, that appeared like a cross between a lion and an eagle. It reminded him a little of Buckbeak, except that it was larger and it seemed angrier than when Buckbeak attacked Draco. Daphne cast a shielding charm to protect the hunters, as did Harry. The griffon reached out with its talons trying to grab the hunters but it was unable to grasp anyone. It continued to fly past the group and circled to try again. It continued with its ear piercing screeching.

One of the hunters prepared his spear, and Harry quickly cast a spell on the spear. The griffon was closing in for another attack. Hermione had scrambled to her knees and prepared to cast another shield charm for the hunters. The hunter through his spear and Harry cast a spell at the griffon. There was a different cry, one of pain and groaning as the griffon was struck in its right eye by a spear and in its right eye by a blasting hex cast by Harry. The massive beast came to a crash on top of the hunters. There was dust thrown up into the air. When it had all settled the griffon was laying just behind the hunters, who had been saved from being crushed by the shield spells.

The hunters pulled themselves up and examined the griffon closely. Quickly they pulled out their knives which they had in their belts. They began to cut the hide off of the griffon, however their knives could barely cut through the thick skin. Harry wondered how they could possibly cut through the magically protected hide, but Hermione suggested that if they added spells to the knives then they may be able to cut through the skin. Quickly he casted several spells on the knives, including sharpening spells and durability spells. It did seem to help although the hunters did have a difficult time with the task, but eventually they were able to remove the hide. The work was slow and arduous, but after a couple of hours, the hunters had removed the hide and then they began to work on a plan for bringing back the carcass to their people. Harry reduced the hide magically and placed it in his pocket. Then he and the women apparated back tot he Land Rover, to begin their journey back to Sydney.

* * *

Two days later they arrived back in Sydney. Harry and Daphne returned to the same hotel they had originally stayed at, taking the evening to clean themselves up and relax with either a long bath or shower, followed by some time sitting in a jacuzzi next to the hotel pool. Hermione had returned to her flat, but promised to meet up with them the next morning.

Harry awoke and went to sit on the balcony that gave him a view of the city. Harry retrieved the notes he had made when he had been studying in the Hall of Secrets back at Pembroke College. He knew that the next stage of this mission would require finding the tail feather from a thunderbird. He had researched some on these mystical creatures and the only place he had found any writings about them was from the legends of native American indians. Harry wondered how it could be that these creatures he needed to find were so widely dispersed around the globe, when Merlin had written about them and the necessity of the various components for making the protective robe for facing a dragon. He ran his hand through is hair, which was not as unruly as it had been as it was getting longer. He let out a slow sigh as he decided he didn't have the time or the energy to think about how these creatures came to be located in such geographically diverse areas, and he returned to thinking about the thunderbird.

His concentration was interrupted as Daphne walked out onto the balcony and gave him a gentle hug from behind. Kissing him on the back of his head, she spoke quietly, "So, my brave Gryffindor, who has actually slain a griffon, have you planned out the next stage of our adventure yet?"

Harry smile and turned around to kiss her lightly on the lips. "No, my love, but I am working on it."

She sat down beside him and gently took his hand in hers. "Well, we all slept in quite late, the morning is nearly over."

Harry looked up at the sun that was approaching the middle of the sky. "So it is," he said acknowledging her comment. "Plans for lunch?"

"Actually," said Daphne with a slight smirk, "I do have plans." Harry raised an eyebrow. "I spoke with Hermione, and she and I are getting together over lunch." Harry started to open his mouth. "Just the two of us," she added. "Without you, Harry," she added for clarification.

His brow furrowed at the thought.

"You will be fine," she said with a grin, "and we will be fine. If she's your best friend, I thought I needed to get to know her better, so I asked her to meet me for lunch."

Harry was about to protest but again Daphne cut him off. "Finish up your planning the next step, order room service if you want for lunch, we'll see you when we get back." She gave him a quick hug, and then she left Harry as he felt a little bewildered by the sudden pronouncement of her lunch meeting.

"Have a nice time," he called after her half heartedly.

"We'll meet up with you back here at the hotel when we're done," she replied.

Hermione was waiting on Daphne in the hotel lobby. They greeted each other and then Hermione told Daphne about a nearby pub that had a reputation of having good food and a relatively quiet atmosphere. The two young women soon found themselves in a quiet booth having lunch together. There was an awkward silence between them as the perused the menus before they placed their orders. Once the waitress left Hermione looked at Daphne.

"You asked me to join you for lunch," she stated, "so what's on your mind?"

Daphne squirmed slightly in her seat, feeling rather uncomfortable. "Well, Hermione, ever since I started to get to know Harry, I really felt that I needed to get to know you. Everyone at school knew about you and Weasley and Harry getting into adventures or just plain getting into trouble. Even during seventh year, it was the three of you together who didn't come to school but showed up for the Battle of Hogwarts."

Hermione nodded, "So, what's the point of this? That's all common knowledge."

"Most of it is, yes," agreed Daphne. "But what isn't common knowledge is why you and Harry never hooked up together? Why did you date Ron? What is it about Harry that I need to know as his girlfriend?" Daphne looked away. "I am not even sure why I am having this conversation with you." She thought about her last statement and then she turned back to Hermione who was about to speak. "Well, actually I am sure. I am sure I need to know something, maybe the answers to the questions I already asked, maybe something more…" Her voice trailed off as she started to blush.

Hermione tilted her head slightly as she saw the emotion that Daphne was trying to hold back. This is definitely not the Ice Queen of Slytherin, she thought to herself. "You want to know why a guy and a girl can be best friends, or best mates, and if so, how can they do that if they're not shagging each other?"

Daphne was a little shocked by Hermione's reply and rhetorical question. "Well, you could put it that way."

Hermione gave Daphne a kind look. "So, the Ice Queen has a soft side after all," she stated. "Very well. I know that Harry shared with you a lot of the details of the adventures we had together in school. But let me explain a little bit about those adventures from my perspective. It all started back in first year, when Harry and Ron rescued me from the troll that Quirrel had released into the school on Halloween. Before that night, I never had any real friends. Not in muggle schools, not at Hogwarts. It probably didn't help that I cam across as a bossy know it all to everyone, but Harry is the one who came to find me. Harry is the one who jumped on the troll to protect me, even though he had no idea what he was going to do to the troll. And yes, Ron is the one who cast the spell that caused the troll to knock itself out, but it was Harry who came to find me, Harry who saved an eleven year old girl."

Daphne nodded as she listened. "As you must be well aware, Harry doesn't need fangirls. He hates that reaction he received, and he had no clue how many Harry Potter fangirls there were at school."

Daphne chuckled slightly, "He even had them in Slytherin," she added.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at that comment and then she continued. "Harry was always there for me as a friend, even during the times when I wasn't the best friend for him. You must understand he has this 'saving people thing' or at least that is what I call it. He always puts others before him. Why? I have no idea. Considering his home life, or rather the life he had living with his relatives, it is amazing he is a caring and kind person at all."

Daphne's attention clearly was piqued by the last comment. Hermione noted the slight reaction in her face. "Harry has not told you about his life with his aunt and uncle and cousin?" she asked. Hermione wasn't surprised to hear that Harry had not spoken about that with Daphne. "It is not my place to say anything more. The House of Slytherin may have actually been a kinder place to Harry back then," she added. Daphne was about to make a comment, but stopped herself when she noted the seriousness in Hermione's eyes.

"Why did I date Ron, you asked," continued Hermione. "Maybe because I thought I could never date Harry. The three of us were always together for most of our first five years. But Harry was different from everyone. Things happen to Harry that never happen to anyone else. The fates seem to enjoy messing up his life every chance they can get. Maybe I thought I wasn't good enough for Harry. Maybe I thought Harry was too much of a lightening rod for trouble. But mostly I thought of him as a brother, a friend who would always be there, no matter what. Not someone you want to snog or anything, someone you want to hold you when you are scared, hug you when you are sad, pick you up when you get knocked down." Hermione had a dreamy look in her eye. "And you knew, you always knew, that Harry would be there to do that for you, every time."

Daphne thought about the comments that Hermione had made. They sat quietly as the waitress brought them their meals. As the waitress left, Daphne asked more questions. "I get all that. I've been learning over the past several months just how special Harry is, but I still don't understand a few things. But can you tell me what happened…what happened between you when you broke up with Ron and left to come here to Australia. Harry didn't tell me much about that. He just said that you and Ron had a falling out over his archaic ideas of the roles of a wife and a mother, and then you told Harry you were leaving. I got the feeling that there was more to it than that."

Hermione sighed heavily as she remembered that week. "Let me ask you a few things first, then I will get back to that week," she said. Daphne indicated that would be fine and Hermione continued. "Tell me what was it that brought you and Harry together in the first place. You don't really run in the same circles, or at least you never did before recently. You had minimal contact with him at school. I had more classes with you than he ever did. And then of course there is all of the house rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin to keep you apart, not to mention your reputation of being so unapproachable. So, enlighten me as to just how the two of you could end up as a couple."

Hermione's tone was friendly, not challenging; thoughtful, not threatening. Daphne began to tell Hermione of her personal frustrations with life back in the fall. Her worries about the family business, her worries about the marriage contract, her worries about her younger sister. She told of her decision to go drown her sorrows in a muggle pub, the safest place she could think of to go to, a place where there would be no one around whom she could possibly know. Except for the simple fact that Harry Potter was drowning his own sorrows in the same muggle pub the same night.

Hermione smiled at the image. "I can understand a little about what led him to that pub, after I heard about what Ginny had been doing." Hermione took a moment to eye Daphne closely. "You're good for him," she said simply.

Daphne was surprised by the simple statement from Hermione. "What?" she asked, almost squeaking as she was shocked by the comment.

"You are good for him," Hermione repeated. "I see Harry is happier than I have ever seen him. Even when he is stressed, such as when we were battling the griffon, I can see it in the way he hold himself. He smiles more than I have ever seen him, especially when you are near him." There was again an awkward silence between the two young women.

Then Hermione continued, "The week before I left for Australia, I asked Harry if he would come with me to help me find my parents. He at first said he needed to think about it. The next day he gave me his answer, he said he would help me find my parents. He then told me he would let Ginny know, and ask her to be patient and wait for him to return. I knew he was dating Ginny, and I had my own concerns about their relationship, but I made it clear to Harry, that I only wanted him to join me if he came as more than just my friend."

Daphne's mouth opened and she quickly covered it with her hand.

Hermione made a crooked smile, "I know, some friend I was to ask him that. But I was confused, I had just broken up with Ron, and I knew I had to find out, could I be with Harry? Could we be a couple? And you know what? Harry did not answer me right away. He said he needed to think about it. We both needed to think about it." Hermione paused and took a sip of water. "He told me before he left that he would always be my friend, that he loved me, like a brother or a sister, or like he thought one would love a family member, but not as someone who would be special. He did not love me in a romantic way. But I realised when I took the time to think about it, that I didn't really love him that way either. I guess in a moment of weakness, when I was vulnerable, when I was emotionally raw after breaking up with Ron, I had my fangirl moment and saw him as something more than he was."

Daphne had to wipe a tear that was forming in her eye. "Why didn't you write to Harry after coming to Australia?"

Hermione laughed slightly. "Because I was stupid. I tried to leave that life behind, I changed my name when I came to Australia. I became Gianna Contadino, I tried to forget everything that happened over the years before I left England. It didn't really work. But I tried to separate myself from the pain. I found my parents and I could not bring back their memories. I tried to explain to them who I was and what I did, but it didn't bring back their memories. I became friends with them, but it became very awkward. I tried to escape from the painful memories of the life I had lost, family and friends, so I immersed myself in this life here."

Daphne asked a sincere question, "Well, did it work? Did it help?"

It was Hermione's turn to wipe away a tear. "No, not at all. I was so excited to see Harry again when I realised who it was who had come into my office. And I am really happy for the both of you, truly I am, as you seem to be so good for each other."

Daphne smiled and reached out and grasped Hermione's arm and gave it a light squeeze. "Thanks, that means so much to me."

"Do me a favour though," said Hermione with a serious tone.

"And what would that be?" asked Daphne.

"Don't ever tell me about snagging him, or shagging him, or anything like that," she said with a slight laugh, "I really don't want to know anything about that."

"I promise," said Daphne with a grin, "I won't tell you any of that."

The two women, now close friends, left the pub as they finished their meal. They returned to the hotel to meet up with Harry. Harry gave Daphne a quick kiss and then he turned to Hermione.

Hermione spoke first, "You have quite the young lady friend there, Harry. Keep making her happy. I am sure she will try to do the same for you."

Harry was startled by the comment and he reached out and drew his best friend into a tight hug. "Well, thanks," he said quietly into her ear.

Harry looked up at Daphne and he quickly broke off the hug and stepped away from Hermione. "Sorry Daph," he said softly, "I don't mean to make you jealous."

Daphne responded with a slight laugh. "Mr. Potter," she said with a playfully formal tone, "I cannot be jealous of your being friends with Hermione." She stepped towards him and gave him a gentle hug. As she stepped away from him, she said loud enough that even Hermione could hear, "Just remember, Harry, if you ever do anything that really makes me jealous, that will be the last you see of me," she warned. Then she leaned in and gave him a passionate kiss. "But in case you're wondering, I am not worried that will ever happen."

Harry blushed a deep red after the kiss broke off.

"Well, Harry," said Daphne, "have you planned out the next part of your mission?"

Harry gave her a big grin, "Yes, we need to head to the United States, to the western plains states, to find a thunderbird." He turned to Hermione as he asked, "Would you like to join us?"

Hermione looked at the couple who were embracing in front of her, and she knew she did not need to think long or hard about her answer.

"I think it sounds like a marvellous adventure," she said with an even larger grin than Harry was wearing, "I'd love to join you."

* * *

**AN: As to the request about the Aranda people...from my research that is the name for the local aborigine people in the area of Northern Australia around the area where I had this part of the story take place...**


	9. Chapter 9

Harry and Daphne met often with Hermione. She wanted to be brought up to speed on what he was planning and why. Harry explained in detail about his research within the Hall of Secrets at Pembroke College where he had access to the writings of Merlin. Hermione was shocked, although she wasn't sure which part she found more surprising, that Harry was doing research on his own or that he had access to long lost writings of the greatest wizard in the recorded history of magic. She knew that she wouldn't be able to just up and leave without giving her notice to the ministry, so she had two weeks to finish her work. During that time Harry and Daphne were working on figuring out where they would need to head next. The only information they could find about thunderbirds was in the stories from native American tribes and their folklore and myths. Harry had asked Hermione to help with gathering what information she might have access to from her current position at the Australian Department of Magical Creatures. There was no local information but she was able to make contact with her counterpart in the Department of Magical Creatures for the Congress of Magic in the United States. They had only a limited amount of information, but it seemed to be more than what Harry was able to glean from the notes he had written back at Pembroke.

Harry had decided that he would make the travel arrangements for the group, as they decided that they would have an easier time traveling via the magical international floo system then by muggle transportation. Trying to explain wands and the hide of a griffon to customs officials didn't seem to any of them like a task they wanted to take on. Daphne was trying to find out the details of the upcoming trip, but Harry just kept giving vague answers and reassurances that everything would be set in place when Hermione was free to travel. Hermione was concerned that they had not done enough planning for the trip, but she could tell that Harry was getting anxious about getting the next mission under way. Daphne and Hermione were starting to wonder just what was making Harry so anxious. Over lunch one day they broached the subject.

Hermione looked at Daphne and then turned to question Harry as she had his girlfriend's silent approval to begin the questioning. "You seem tense, Harry," she commented, "is there a timeline in which you have to complete this task?"

Harry was at first surprised by the question. "While there is no official deadline for completing the whole task, I do feel compelled to complete everything as quickly as possible." He ended his comments and took a sip of water, clearly not offering any further explanation. Daphne remained silent, as she thought she understood his reasoning, but she had not felt it was her place to share all of that with Hermione.

Hermione glanced back at Daphne and noted that she was not about to offer any further explanation, so she turned back to Harry to pry him for a more clear answer. "What is compelling you to get this done? You mentioned that this was for some sort of mission. Why on earth would you need the hide of a griffon and the tail feather from a thunderbird? I suppose the next thing your'e going to tell me is that you will be hunting a dragon." Hermione thought to herself that Harry really did seem to get himself involved in some pretty crazy things.

Harry raised an eyebrow when Hermione mentioned a dragon. Hermione noted his reaction. She nearly dropped her glass.

"You can't be seriously thinking of going after a dragon," Hermione gasped. "You were nearly fried by the Hungarian Horntail, we were all scared out of our wits when we flew off on that Ukrainian Ironbelly from Gringotts." Hermione paused, and then she gasped. "That's what this is all about isn't it?" She looked from Harry to Daphne and then back to Harry. "You're doing this to pay them back."

Harry shrugged. "I really don't have a choice in the matter. I am beholden to the goblins until I repay the debt which I owe them." He sighed slowly as he avoided her gaze.

"But what about me? And Ron? What do we owe the goblins? We were there with you?" Hermione was becoming more agitated, and Harry could hear it in her tone.

He avoided her eyes as he answered. "I met with Ragnok, I made a deal with them. I am the only one who needs to repay them anything for what happened. It was because of me that you two were there." He turned to face her as he continued. "You and Ron are free to continue any and all business with Gringotts, that much should be more than obvious to you by now. I still have to complete this task for them, and then I will no longer be in their service."

"But why? How? You have to bring them back a dragon? A live dragon?" Hermione was beside herself. "That's suicide! And what does it mean to be in their service?"

Harry took in a deep breath, looked at Daphne who gave him a reassuring smile, and then he looked back at Hermione. "I have limited access to any of my inherited wealth that is tied up in Gringotts until I complete this task for them. As long as I am indebted to anyone, I cannot take up my titles of Lord Potter or Lord Black. I cannot take up my family seat in the Wizengamut, as anything I would say or do would be suspect that I was being controlled. You already know enough about politics among wizards, I cannot afford to do any of those things until I am a free man. Daphne understands this. And thankfully, her father understands this." Daphne reached out and clasped her hands over his as she smile tenderly at her man.

Hermione was starting to understand.

"My life is on hold until I complete this. Daphne can be nothing more than my girlfriend until I complete this and free myself from this indentured servitude. The sooner I complete this, the sooner I can move on and put the whole war behind me. This keeps it ever present in my mind."

Hermione understood. She took up a new identity and moved to the other side of the world. That was how she had tried to move on. Until Harry came back into her life. She realised just how much she had missed her friends and the magical world of ENgland. While she did feel more accepted here in Australia as she had quickly been able to make a name for herself within the Ministry of Magic, a name that was not based on the war or her association with The-Boy-Who-Lived, or even based on her birth status, but merely on her own accomplishments.

Hermione started to feel for Harry and Daphne and their predicament. "So," she began as she tried to get her thoughts around this concept, "you need the griffon hide and the thunderbird tail feather and then you can have a way to catch a dragon."

Harry chuckled, "If only it was so simple." He looked at Daphne and squeezed her hands. "After getting the tail feather, then I need to get the venom from a chimera, and then the tears from a unicorn. Then I can cast the protection spell and approach a dragon, and then bring it back to Gringotts."

Hermione laughed uncomfortably, "But no Horcruxes to find and destroy? Why does it always seem you have to accomplish the impossible, Harry?"

"Just my luck," he grinned.

Daphne was glad that Harry had told more of the task ahead to Hermione so she would understand just what it was that they were trying to do. And now she also understood how Harry was having to put his life on hold until he had this all completed. "So, Harry," asked Daphne, "when do we leave?"

He gave his girlfriend a sly smile, "Tomorrow at noon. We will use international floo travel, and go from Sydney to Tokyo, then to Honolulu, then to San Francisco, and from there to Boston."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Why Boston?" she asked, confused as to why they would head all the way tot he east coast of the United States when they would arrive on the West Coast and their destination was the Great Plains.

"Trust me," he said simply, "it needs to be done this way."

Even Daphne gave him a curious look, not sure what he had planned.

The two women were more tired than Harry when they walked through the international floo gateway in Boston. The arrival was in a magical portion of Logan International Airport, which made almost as much sense to Harry as the Hogwarts Express leaving from platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Harry had shrunk everyone's luggage and had it hidden in a pocket in his dark robes. He continued to wear the wide brimmed hat that obscured his scar from being seen by any passersby. Harry hated having attention drawn to himself, and he figured that anywhere he went throughout the world that someone could recognise him as there were plenty of stories about the Boy-Who-Lived defeating the Dark Lord Voldemort. It was international news and he definitely had no desire to be an international celebrity.

Daphne was holding onto Harry's right arm and Hermione was walking along on his left side as they were moving through the crowds at the terminal. Hermione finally spoke up. "Okay, so now we are here in Boston, now what?"

Harry grinned at her. Daphne just tugged on his arm slightly trying to get him to explain his plans further. She turned to look at him and she noticed a large smile appear across his face. Then from behind her, a familiar voice called out, "Daphne!"

Daphne turned and shrieked as a tall brunette came running towards her through the crowd. The woman embraced Daphne and crushed with a bear hug and spun her around. Daphne couldn't believe that her best friend, Tracey Davis, was here in Boston, greeting them upon their arrival. Harry noted a tear in Daphne's eye as she whispered thank you to her boyfriend. The two squealing women stopped their hug and Daphne then melted into Harry's arms to hug him. Tracey turned to Hermione as she greeted her, "Hey Granger, how are you?"

Hermione had known Tracey and Daphne in passing through some of the classes they had together, and she knew enough of the two former Slytherin women that they were very close friends back in school. "I am fine, Tracey," she answered, trying to be less formal and used her first name.

Tracey then turned to the group as she spoke, "So, Harry told me when he contacted me that he wanted to surprise you by coming here to see me."

Daphne just squeezed Harry once more with her left arm as she looked back at her best friend, not sure what to say. "So, we can take port key back to my aunt and uncle's home in New Hampshire. They have a really pretty place up in the mountains on a secluded lake."

Harry looked at his two traveling companions, "I was thinking that we could take a few days for Daph to visit her best friend, and we could then make arrangements to head west and continue our journey then."

Tracey looked from Harry to Daphne, and then back to Harry. "You never did tell me why you all were coming to the states."

"We're on a quest," Harry replied with a grin. "I seek the Holy Grail." He received blank stares from the two Slytherins, but a slight chuckle from Hermione.

Hermione tried to explain, "It's from a movie. It's a muggle thing." The two confused friends just nodded politely as if the explanation made all of the sense in the world.

Hermione turned to Harry, and with a slight glare she added, "No talk about burning witches, or building a bridge out of one, or I might just turn you into a newt!"

Harry smiled at her comment, but he wisely decided against any further Monty Python banter as it would probably only irritate his girlfriend who was feeling as though she was left out on the joke, which he knew that she had been.

Turning to the other two women he then gave a more serious answer, "I have several tasks I am working on, and currently I need to find a thunderbird, which I believe would be most likely to be found in the Great Plains. You know, where there are cowboys and indians and buffalo."

Tracey sighed, "You must have watched too many muggle western movies." She then encouraged them to follow her. "The port key departure area is over this way, we have to leave the protective wards so we can activate it."

Several hours later the young wizard and his three young witch companions were relaxing on a deck, overlooking a deep blue lake with mountains surrounding the area. The spring weather was still a little chilly, but there was a warm breeze for this April day. Tracey commented that not too much farther north, there were still areas with snow on the ground, so they should appreciate the unusually warm spring weather they were having. Tracey was telling Daphne about everything that she had been up to, including taking some advanced courses at the Salem Institute for Magic, which was not too far away in Massachusetts.

When her aunt and uncle had arrived home from their work, they came out onto the porch to greet their niece's guests. Tracey made the introductions. Upon greeting Tracey's uncle, Harry stood up and shook his hand. Uncle Tim shook Harry's hand and made a brief note of the scar on Harry's for head.

"So, young man, you are the mysterious Boy-Who-Lived," he said with a slight grin. "There are those in my department that argue that the stories concerning you and that dark lord were merely myths and legend spread by the previous administration to cover up their own corruption. But I was aware that our Congress of Magic was preparing a strike force to repel any possible attacks if your own countries civil war started to spread out past your borders. All of that Pureblood nonsense they still have back there is quite sickening. The magical society here on this side of the pond have long since come to understand that those witches and wizards born into non-magical families can often be some of the strongest magic users within our society. I'd enjoy hearing your first hand experience of some of the adventures which you are rumoured to have had while you were a student with my niece."

Harry was a little surprised by this greeting and looked towards Tracey.

"Uncle Tim is the equivalent of an Unspeakable," she explained.

Harry raised an eyebrow. Turning back to Uncle Tim, he replied, "I would be happy to have a chat with you, but perhaps you could answer some questions for me. I have a particular interest in some native American myths and magical creatures. Maybe you might have some information you could share with me."

The two men looked at each other and then Uncle Tim gave Harry a big smile. "I hear you're quite the Quidditch player."

Harry blushed slightly.

"Well, I am not that much of a Quidditch fan, however," added Uncle Tim, "I have become fond of this muggle sport that have here, called baseball. There's a game on the television this evening, featuring the local favourite team, the Boston Red Sox, why don't you join me as we watch it."

Harry looked over to Daphne who gave him an encouraging nod, so Harry smiled back at his host as he answered, "Sounds like fun."

* * *

Daphne enjoyed immensely her time to catch up with her best friend, Tracey Davis. Hermione had tried not to invade on their time together, so she sat with Harry as he watched baseball and discussed his personal mission with Tracey's Uncle Tim. Harry explained that he needed to obtain the tail feather from a thunderbird. Tim frowned at the idea initially, but then he offered what little advice he could. He suggested that Harry contact a shaman from the Lakota tribe, indicating that they were located in South Dakota.

Hermione was starting to feel like the odd one out, so she took the opportunity to explore the local community library. While there, she was able to do research over the internet, and she learned as much as she could about the legend of thunderbirds and the Lakota nation. She quickly understood that the legends about the mystical birds indicated that they travelled in the midst of either severe storms or some sort of natural disaster. The Great Plains states are known to have severe weather patterns from time to time, and she studied what she could about this as well.

After several days of relaxing while visiting with Tracey, Harry announced that they should begin their quest again. Uncle Tim gave them the name of a contact within the Lakota nation. They trio travelled by muggle means to arrive in South Dakota. Tracey had joined her uncle as he took them to the Manchester-Boston Airport. She gave her friend a long hug and turned to Harry and whispered a 'thank you' for taking the time to visit so she and Daphne could catch up. Tim handed Harry a slip of paper with a name and an address.

They arrived in Sioux Falls later that day, and then arranged for a rental car to drive across the state to Rapid City on the western side of the state. Hermione had obtained her driver's license when she was in Australia, a simple fact they were all grateful for when they realised they would be using more muggle transportation. During the long drive across the state, Hermione regaled them with what history she had learned of both South Dakota and the Lakota nation. They would be heading towards the Badlands, and area that had special meaning to the Lakota people. Harry shared what little he knew of native Americans from the occasional western movies that Dudley would watch and he occasionally would get to see parts of the action, or at least hear dialogue as he was laying in his cot in his cupboard.

Eventually they arrived at the Grand Gateway Hotel where they had a reservation for a suite. It was late at night by the time they were settled in, and they all made a hasty retreat to their beds. Hermione was surprised that Harry and Daphne were not sharing a bed, despite their traveling together. She made a mental note to ask Harry more about his relationship with Daphne when she had the opportunity.

The next morning, they all slept in and got a late start to the day. Harry's note from Tim indicated that they had a pre-arranged meeting at one in the afternoon with the man named on the paper. Harry presumed from the previous conversations he had with Tim that this man was perhaps the shaman for the Lakota tribe. After a later breakfast, they set out to find their contact. The address was located in a small village near the Badlands. There were simple one story homes in a neighbourhood that had seen better days. Hermione pulled the rental car, a small SUV, into the driveway of the house which matched the address they were given. Harry lead the way to knock on the door.

A tall man with dark hair pulled back into a pony tail greeted them. Harry introduced himself, explaining that he was given the name of a Lakota shaman to contact about a special project he was working on. The man eyed Harry and his companions carefully. Then he introduced himself as John "Running Wolf" Whitecloud and he invited them into his home. John explained that he had received a phone call telling him of these three young friends who were coming to discuss some important issues about Lakota legend with him. He then gave a short explanation of his role as shaman to the local tribe.

"So, here I have a couple of witches and a wizard to asks me about thunderbirds," he said hesitantly. "Not exactly how I figured to be spending the coming week," he added with a slight grin.

Harry looked around the room they were in, and turned back to their host. "Well, this was not at all what I was expecting," he said as he was about to explain the reason for their visit.

"This isn't a John Wayne movie, you know," said the obviously irritated shaman, "not even a Kevin Costner film. We don't ride around on horses screaming war cries or live in tepees any more. Some of us still remember the old ways."

Harry bowed his head slightly as he blushed. "I'm sorry," he stammered in apology, "I didn't mean it like that. I guess I had no idea what to expect."

Running Wolf eyed him closely. "Well, no stereotyping, please. When I was told of your coming, I was not expecting a couple of old hags with crooked noses and large warts flying around on brooms with a bunch of flying monkeys."

Daphne looked at Hermione and mouthed "Flying monkeys?"

Hermione whispered back, "I'll explain that one later."

Harry cringed slightly at the rebuke. "Let me start again," he said trying to ease any tensions. "I have need of obtaining a tail feather from a thunderbird."

John Whitecloud eyed him carefully. "I am sure we can find you a nice eagle feather somewhere."

Harry fidgeted slightly. "No, not an eagle feather, a thunderbird, the legendary mystical bird of the Great Plains. I know most people do not believe they even exist."

John sat back in his chair and looked at the three people in front of him. "You're serious then," he said quietly and then after a slight pause he added, "I thought that this was some elaborate prank. How do I know you are really a wizard or witches?"

Harry looked at Hermione and Daphne and then he turned back to John. With a quick flick of his wrist his wand was in his hand. "Lumos," he said softly and a bright light appeared on the end of his wand. "Nox," he said and the light went out.

"Is that enough proof for you?" he asked, "Or do you need to see more?"

Wrinkling his brow at the site he had just seen the shaman simply nodded as he said, "That was plenty or at least a good parlour trick."

Daphne snapped her wand into her hand as she stated "Wingardium Leviosa," as she waved her wand at the chair that their host was sitting in. After he rose up into the air a couple of feet she made a quick swish of her wand and the chair and its occupant came to a loud thud back on the floor.

Raising an eyebrow at Daphne he added, "All right, so that isn't just a simple parlour trick."

Hermione sighed and then she began to explain what she had learned about thunderbirds from the studying she had been doing. John nodded as he listened to what she had to say. Then he turned to them as a group as he began to educate them all.

"The wakinyan is the creature which you all are referring to as a thunderbird," he spoke slowly with a reverence in his voice for the subject they were about to discuss. "We do not discuss these things with outsiders usually, but you have shown me some interesting things yourselves. The wakinyan is not well understood, even among most of the Lakota or our neighbouring human beings. The bird is often thought of as a harbinger of doom, of and omens. However, it is a simple creature. A simple but terrible creature. It chooses to fly across the plains from time to time, usually during the spring or summer. As it flies across the sky, it gathers clouds and wind and rain. The resulting storms that accompany the wakinyan as it flies can become terrible, spawning tornadoes and hail and tremendous damage. If it flies during the winter, it can create severe blizzards. This is not a creature one should want to come in contact with."

Harry looked at Daphne, then Hermione and then back to John. "I have faced a dragon, and I have defeated a griffon. I do not think I am afraid of a large bird."

John frowned. "You should be," he said softly.

Hermione spoke up and asked, "How do we find the wakinyan?"

"You wait," he answered simply. "You wait for the right storm, and then, if you have a way to venture into the heart of the storm, you may find the wakinyan. It is a terrible and fierce creature, I would not imagine that it would be happy to encounter anyone in the midst of its travel."

Hermione started to ask another question, but was silenced by their host. "That is all I have to tell you," he said. Then he looked at them all sombrely, "I can tell you no more. I would wish you well on your quest, but I fear that you will not have a safe travel."

Daphne felt a shiver run through her at that comment.

"Thank you for your time," said Harry as he got up to offer his hand in thanks. "You have been more than helpful."

John shook his hand but frowned, "I fear that I have been less than helpful, but merely added to your danger."

The three friends retreated to the Ford Explorer and began their trip back to their hotel.

"Well, that was not exactly charming," commented Daphne.

Hermione nodded in agreement, but then opined, "He did give us some useful information, if not a dire warning as well." She then turned to Harry, "So, do you have a plan formulating yet?"

"I'm working on it," he said with a thin smile. He reached back to Daphne who was sitting behind Hermione and he gently squeezed her hand. "I'll be fine, we'll find a way to do this, to get the feather."

She smiled back at him, but she was having a hard time feeling very convinced by his words.

After arriving back at their suite, they arranged for room service as they began to discuss their plans for finding the thunderbird or wakinyan. Hermione shared what she had been learning about weather patterns.

"Apparently there are people who call themselves storm chasers," she explained. "They drive around in trucks with equipment to take measurements of tornadoes. There was a movie a few years back, apparently, that had people doing that. We can use the rental car, but we will have to find a way to track the storms."

Harry held Daphne's hand as they contemplated what Hermione had shared with them. "Well, if we don't have any of that equipment, is there another way to track storms?"

Hermione sighed. "The muggles have computers that could help us, they even have portable ones, but I doubt that we could have a way to connect to the internet while we are driving around." She quietly thought more about what information she had learned. "Well, they also have a muggle television channel called the Weather Channel. That might help us identify areas where storms are forming. We would have to check it out in the evening and then the next morning to figure out where we need to go."

Harry thought about their options. "It seems sort of hit or miss," he stated, his frustration evident in his words. Harry got up and went to his room to lie down.

There was an awkward silence as the two women sat alone for a few minutes after Harry had left. Hermione cast a glance at the door to Harry's room and then back at Daphne. Daphne noted the look and simply asked, "What?"

"You and Harry," Hermione stated quietly, "you're not sleeping together." It was a statement, and not a question.

Daphne shifted slightly in her chair. "Not that it is any business of yours, but no, we're not."

Hermione did not miss the coldness in Daphne's words. Internally Hermione sighed, as she felt that she might be losing ground on the friendship she had been establishing with her best friend's girlfriend. "I'm just surprised, that's all. You're two young adults, I just sort of assumed."

Daphne worked to check her anger as she could sense the sincerity in Hermione's words. "Just because so many other young people start shagging at the first chance they get, that does not mean that we have to. Harry and I have been taking our growing relationship slowly. I thought you had understood that after all of the talks we have had." Daphne paused as she thought about her relationship with Harry, and the slight embarrassment of discussing it with anyone, particularly Hermione. "We have a closeness that we are allowing to develop slowly. Maybe we're both a little old fashioned, well, he definitely is; but we have decided to hold off on certain levels of physical intimacy. We'll have plenty of time for intimacy when this is all down and behind us."

After another awkward silence Hermione simply said "Thanks."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "Thanks for what?"

"For being willing to open up, and for not hexing me for butting in to your private life with Harry." Hermione gave a slight smile. Then she got up and went to her own room in the suite.

* * *

The next day they all woke up early, and found Hermione was staring at the television which had some sort of colour coded maps with various lines across the middle of the screen. Harry and Daphne stood behind her and just stared at the screen in front of them. Hermione didn't turn and look back at them as she commented, "I think we need to head south. There appears to be some storms developing over Nebraska, and maybe Kansas."

Daphne looked at the screen and then back at Hermione. "It doesn't look like Kansas is just a short drive away."

Hermione turned back and answered, "No, it could take all day to get to Kansas, but we ought to get started." She then turned to Harry, "So have you figured out how you plan to reach the wakinyan when we find a storm?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Working on it, a combination of my Firebolt and some protective charms, and the griffon hide."

Daphne squeezed his hand gently sharing her concerns.

The three then checked out of their suite and climbed into the vehicle. They started to drive towards Nebraska, hoping to find large storms forming over the plains. They spent the next three days without coming anywhere near a thunderstorm, let alone a large storm system with tornadoes and hail that could indicate that a thunderbird was nearby.

On the fourth day of storm chasing, they came across a large storm system moving northeast. From a distance they could see the large anvil clouds forming and the radio in the car had issued a tornado warning. Harry jumped out of the Explorer when they had pulled off of the highway. Hermione cast a notice-me-not charm on him as he prepared to fly into the storm. He put the griffon hide on like a cloak, while Hermione cast a charm to keep his glasses from falling off or from fogging up. Daphne cast a warming charm on him. He then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, followed by a quick hug for Hermione as he kicked off of the ground and flew into the air chasing the approaching storm.

Harry found the wind currents and the up and down drafts to be difficult to navigate. Playing Quidditch in the middle of rain and fog seemed like child's play compared with the effect the weather was having on his flying. He quickly appreciated the protection charms and the warming charms the two witches had cast on him as he flew into the clouds of the storm. He came out of the clouds by shooting upwards on a big updraft just before there was a crack of lightning below him. His ears ached from the tremendous clap of thunder that emanated form the storm just below him. He spent over one hour navigating in and out of the clouds, but he found no evidence of a mystical bird.

By the time he arrived back to where Daphne and Hermione were waiting for him, he had been flying for close to three hours. He was soaked through all of his clothes, and knew he would have felt worse if it wasn't for the warming charms. Daphne greeted him with a tremendous hug, as she explained how worried she had been while he was gone.

Hermione merely frowned in frustration as she stated that they had accomplished nothing. Harry's beaming smile confused her though.

"Other than being totally exhausted," he said cheerfully, which was surprising considering how cold and wet he appeared, "it was a successful adventure."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Successful how?"

"Well, for starters," he replied, "we learned of the importance of the various spells you cast. However, I have some ideas for more spells that should help. Such as a water repellant charm, a protection from lightning, and probably even ear plugs to protect from the thunder."

Hermione nodded and she started to smile. Harry was turning this into a learning exercise, and she felt proud that he was able to do that.

Daphne looked at him with concern though. "I was just worried about you with being gone so long."

He gave her a wet hug as he kissed her on the side of her neck, "I know love, but now I know how to be safer when I am up there. Another important safety precaution would be getting gloves to help keep a grip on the broom."

Daphne noted that Harry was starting to shiver from how wet he was and she quickly cast some drying charms on him. The three then got back into the vehicle and headed off to find a place to get some dinner and then a place to sleep for the night. Along the way Harry excitedly relayed all that he had learned while flying through the clouds and the storm, the excitement of learning to use the up and down drafts, the thrill of flying with thunder and lightning all around. The two witches thought he was crazy.

The next morning Harry bought himself some gloves at a sporting goods store they had come across in Lincoln, Nebraska. Harry wasn't exactly sure why there were gloves designed for playing football, but Hermione pointed out that American football was different from football in England. Later that morning they came across a small storm. Hermione was sure that there was no way that there would be a thunderbird in the storm, but Harry wanted to try flying through the storm with using the gloves and the added protection. Two hours later he returned, less wet but even more excited. Daphne gasped as he explained how at one point a lightning bolt forked around him. He reassured her that it showed that the protective spells they were using actually worked.

Over their dinner that night, Harry continued to recall some of the experiences he had flying through the storm. Daphne finally turned towards Hermione, "Does he always get like this? All excited before and adventure or a Quidditch match?"

Hermione sighed as she looked over at Harry. "Before a Quidditch match, yes, before and adventure, not quite so much."

Harry frowned at the teasing he was receiving from the two witches.

Daphne gave him a gentle hug, then she looked at him sternly. "This may all be fun and games to you chasing storms and flying around on your broom, but if and when you find the wakinyan, I expect that it will not be so exciting."

Harry leaned away slightly, but stayed within Daphne's gentle grasp. "I know, the excitement will be overcome with the danger."

Daphne pouted slightly, "That's what we're all worried about, the danger part."

Harry saw the look of concern and love in her eyes, and his mood softened. He pulled her back into a hug, never taking his eyes off of hers, "I will be careful. But I need to do this, you know that." He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, "But I will be careful, for you."

It was nearly a week before they found another large storm. Harry again flew in and out of the storm, avoiding the large funnel clouds that were forming below. But again, he had not found any evidence of a thunderbird.

They were now driving across the plains a log the Kansas and Oklahoma border. The weather was unseasonably warm for early May. The number of storms that were forming was increasing, as well as the severity. Over breakfast in a hotel, Hermione heard a severe weather alert about a large storm system forming northwest of their location. The weather maps indicated that it could be the largest storm they had yet to investigate. However, it was still several hours drive away form where they were and she sighed thinking there was no way they could reach the storm. Harry tore his eyes away from the television when he heard her sigh. He looked at Hermione and then back to Daphne.

"I need to get to this storm," he said simply.

The two women gazed at him. Hermione protested that they would be driving for hours before they could get close to it. Harry continued, "No, I need to get to this one. You two drive north to intercept the storm's path. I will fly straight there."

Daphne felt afraid as she thought of Harry leaving on his own like this. "It will take you over an hour or two of flying just to reach that storm," she protested. "You'll be exhausted when you get there."

He gave her a gentle hug, "I'll be fine," he tried to reassure her. "Hey, I am doing this for us as much as for me. I started this mission in earnest after we met at that pub. You're the one who has given me the motivation to accomplish this and get my freedom back from the goblins. Meet me north of here in a few hours."

Hermione and Daphne gave each other worried glances but helped cast the protective charms on Harry before he headed up to the roof of the hotel and then he took off on his broom. The two women did not waste any time getting checked out of the hotel and on their way heading north to intercept the storm system.

Harry was impressed by the size of the storm when he was still over a hundred miles away. He had not seen the anvil clouds rising so high on any of the other storms they had been investigating. His pulse quickened as he grasped the broom handle more firmly as he willed the Firebolt to travel even faster. He was sure that this would be his chance.

Daphne was holding onto the map in her hands so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. Hermione noted this and tried to comfort her. Stating the obvious, she commented, "You seem a little more tense than usual today."

Daphne barely took her eyes of the road in front of them to look askance at Hermione. "How will we be able to find him? What if something happens to him?"

Hermione smiled, "Simple, I added a tracking charm." Daphne started to relax slightly. "To both Harry and his precious broom."

"Thanks, Hermione," she replied. "That means a lot."

Hermione reached over with her hand and gently squeezed Daphne's wrist. They continued their drive in silence.

Harry could see the start of funnel clouds dipping below the bottom of the storm. He was grateful for the ear plug charms, as they not only protected him from the deafening claps of thunder but from the air pressure changes that could mess up his balance as well as cause plenty of pain. The cloak fashioned from the griffon hide was secure around his shoulders, flapping behind him, almost like the cape of a super hero in American comic books. Harry dove into the clouds, the drying spells keeping his glasses clear, but the fog and mist still made it hard to see very far. He was appreciative of the gloves he wore when a sudden updraft sent him spiralling towards the thinner air above the storm. He corrected his flight path, trying to head towards the centre of the storm. He had learned how to judge some of the wind movements during his previous forays into smaller storms, but this storm was clearly much larger and much stronger than anything he had encountered. He tried to fly high over most of the clouds, which was difficult to do with the size of the thunderheads. The air was becoming thinner, and he was starting to feel short of breath, when he noted what appeared to be a calmer area with wind circling in unusual patterns around it. He dove his broom towards the disturbance. Several lightning bolts streaked towards him as he approached, but he held his course and did not veer to the left or to the right, and he was thankful for the protective charms that continued to cause the bolts to fork and move around him. He thought he saw a glimpse of blue and white and silver. Harry's heart beat quicker as he wondered if he had glimpsed his quarry. As he was flying towards the blur of colours ahead, he could feel the winds become stronger and start to shift direction. He spun slightly as he did a barrel roll, but maintained his balance. A gust of wind hit him in the side, strong enough to make him think it might have been a bludger in the middle of the storm. But he continued to press on.

The clouds and mist started to thin out. He could see in front of him there was a giant and awesome appearing bird, with a wingspan of easily thirty feet. The head of blue and silver feathers turned and faced him as it soared on its out stretched wings. The black eyes seemed to bore through him, obviously unhappy to be disturbed by any intruder. It opened its mouth and a bolt of lightning shot forth with a loud screech. The lightning did not fork until just before it hit Harry and his broom. The smell of ozone was almost overwhelming. The creature was becoming increasingly agitated as Harry continued to move closer. The wakinyan started to spin to face him as it began to beat its wings quickly. Harry was amazed by the gracefulness and the strength with which the creature moved. The sudden gust of wind from the beating of the birds wings knocked him back, and he almost let go of his broom.

Harry was able to grab tighter and pull himself out of the downward spin he had fallen into and started to climb back towards the giant bird. The storm raged even more fiercely in response to the anger of the wakinyan for being disturbed. Harry burst through the clouds into the clear air around the bird, only to see he had to duck before being grabbed by a talon. He spun around and saw he was heading straight for the tail of the beast, and he reached out with his hand. The thunderbird spun in mid air, catching Harry from behind as it flapped its wings in anger and in pain. Harry felt something hit the back of his head, and then everything went black.

Hermione and Daphne were listening to the weather reports, of a massive storm. They were getting closer to the storm but they were still over fifty miles away when the reported stated that there was a report of a class 5 tornado forming. The hail from the storm was increasing as well, causing damage to many crops below. They were close enough to see several new funnel clouds start to shoot out from the storm and a dramatic increase in lightning strikes. They were both worried about Harry when suddenly it seemed that the storm became suddenly quieter and the clouds seemed to be pulling back in on themselves. The dramatic change in the strength of the storm initially was encouraging, and then Daphne cried out, "Dear God, no."

Hermione could feel her own heart sink, wondering what it could all mean. She stopped the car suddenly, and then she used her wand and the tracking spell to determine where Harry could be. She felt a faint tug pulling north. She pulled the vehicle over and stopped on the side of the road.

"Something's wrong," she stated. Hermione was worried enough she decided to try to apparate to Harry's location. She told Daphne, who chided her, explaining that it can't be done. "We have a destination, Harry's position," she continued. "I have to try," she cried.

Daphne nodded, and reached her hand out to Hermione. "Let's do it together then."

They felt the familiar squeezing as if going through a tube and then found themselves in the middle of a field that had been levelled by the storm. They spun around and Daphne noted a golden lump to their left, and she ran towards it. Harry was covered in griffon hide, but he was not moving, appearing deathly still. Hermione knelt down next to him and reached to feel for a pulse. Daphne was too scared to even ask. Hermione looked up with a slight smile, "I feel a faint pulse," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. Daphne knelt next to him as well. They both had limited healer training and quickly assessed for any obvious damage. They could not find any broken bones or obvious injuries. Searching the area, they found his broom which had been shattered on the fall, and then they noted that in his hand he still tightly held on to a large blue and silver feather.

Daphne turned to Hermione, asking out loud the questions she had been to afraid to voice since they arrived. "What's wrong with him? Why won't he wake up?"

Hermione was becoming increasingly worried. "I can't figure out what happened to him. The griffon hide protected him from the fall, as did the charms we placed on him. I'm not sure what to do next."

Daphne quickly cast the patronus charm she had learned from Harry, and sent a desperate call for help to Tracey and her uncle. Hermione had managed to assess Harry and determined he had no neck injury or internal injuries. She had conjured a pillow for him and a blanket to cover him.

Ten minutes later, Tracey and her uncle had arrived at their location. Daphne was in tears as she and Hermione had explained what happened. Tim disappeared quickly and then returned a minute later with Running Wolf by his side. The shaman looked over the stricken young man, noted the feather still in his grip and then he made a quick assessment. Turning to the group, with a solemn tone he stated that he had no advice to offer, or any explanation for what might have happened.

"We need to get him to a hospital," said Hermione, stating aloud what they all instinctively knew.

"The closest major hospital to here would be in Wichita," stated John Whitecloud.

Tim shook his head, "No, we need a magical hospital." The group looked at him. "We'll need to get him to New Orleans, there is a magical hospital and research facility affiliated with Tulane. I will be right back with a medical team."

Daphne just knelt next to Harry, holding his hand, and Tracey sat behind her, rubbing her shoulders.

Several minutes later Tim arrived with a medical team. Daphne noted the insignia on the white robes of the healers, Saints Cosmos and Damian's Hospital. The team quickly evaluated Harry, had him on a stretcher and apparated away. Daphne was left holding onto the feather with Hermione and Tracey trying to comfort her. Tim was trying to calm them all down.

"He is in the best hands possible," he said. The three witches waited for more reassurance. "The healers will need some time to evaluate his condition, what happened to him, and what needs to be done."

Forty-five minutes later the group was being escorted into the hospital room where Harry was being evaluated. A tall man with light hair stepped forward after reviewing notes on a clipboard. "My name is Healer Richmond," he said as he greeted first Tim and then the young women. "Who is next of kin?" he asked as he looked at them all.

"He has no family," said Hermione, holding back tears, "but Daphne, here, is his girlfriend, they have been a couple for many months."

The healer looked taken aback. Then he turned to Daphne, and he continued with his somber tone. "I am sorry to say, but he is in a very grave situation." Hermione held onto Daphne from behind as she shuddered at the news. "We have concluded all of the tests which we can perform."

"What happened?" cried, Daphne. "What is wrong with him?"

The healer bid them all to take a seat as he tried to explain. Tim quickly conjured chairs for the group of them.

"Physically he is fine, but his previous injuries are incredible," he said with obvious shock at findings they had discovered. "He has countless previous injuries, broken bones, re-grown bones." He looked at Daphne and Hermione. "Can you tell me anything about the scar? Is it true that this is _the_ Harry Potter?"

Hermione looked at Daphne and then answered for her. "He is the Harry Potter that defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort. He received the scar on his forehead when he was just fifteen months old when he was attacked with the killing curse."

A frown deepened on the healer's face. "I take it that was not the only time he was hit with that curse," he said without asking a question. Hermione simply nodded in agreement with the statement.

"A most unusual case," he muttered. Then he looked at the group again. "Our healers and the unspeakables we work with have never seen anything like this ever. He survived at least two castings of the killing curse, that alone is incredible. His body has suffered an amazing amount of physical trauma for his young age, one would think he was what the muggles would call a daredevil. There is evidence that he has been attacked with the cruciatis curse on multiple occasions, and it seems he had some dark magic hidden within his scar that was torn from him at some time, perhaps a couple of years ago."

Daphne held onto Hermione's and Tracey's hands for comfort. "But what does all of this mean."

"What ever happened to him up in Kansas was traumatic on a magical and physical level. The cloak he had on seemed to absorb most of the physical trauma. However, his magical core received an incredible blow. We have never seen anything like this before."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione seeking clarification. "Does he just have exhaustion of his magical core?"

"At first we thought that might have been the problem, however, his magical core is quite astounding in its capacity, beyond that of the most powerful wizards I have ever examined and worked with," said the healer. "His magical core has been shattered, perhaps more akin to one having their spleen ruptured. If your spleen was ruptured and not healed or removed, then you would bleed to death internally. In the case of a ruptured magical core, his magic will slowly leak out, until it is all gone."

Hermione took a deep breath, and then spoke again. "So, what do you need to do to repair his magical core?"

The healer took a deep breath, and then slowly stated, "There is nothing we have that can heal a rupture to the magical core. I have never seen such an injury. I am consulting with healers throughout the country and even across Europe. No one has seen such an injury."

"But there must be something you can do," cried Daphne. Tracey put her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Have you ever broken a wand?" he asked. "Repairing a wand with a broken core just does not work. We can repair wands, and to repair the magical core of a wizard or witch, well, that is something that cannot be done."

Hermione asked the healer for Harry's possessions. He raised an eyebrow and handed her a small trunk. "His things have been placed into the trunk and then it was shrunken. Perhaps it should go to his friend," he added.

Hermione returned the trunk to its normal size, opened it up and pulled out Harry's wand and handed it to Daphne. Daphne gave her a puzzled look and the healer had a look of confusion. "So, this is Harry's wand," she said as she looked at her friend, "do you think this wand can heal Harry?"

Hermione shook her head. "When we were hunting the horcruxes," Hermione began to explain and ignored the questioning looks from those around at the mention of the dark items, "I broke this wand of Harry's by mistake."

"But that's impossible," said Daphne, "I have seen him use this wand countless times."

Healer Richmond scoffed, "That can't be done. It would take something with the power of the fabled Elder Wand to repair such a thing, and we don't have time for children's stories and fairy tales. Your friend is dying, there is nothing that we can do."

Hermione glared at the man. "How much time before his core has completely leaked out?"

"With the size of his core, it would be a matter of days, maybe four or five at the most."

"Come Daphne," stated Hermione, "it seems we don't have much time."

…...

* * *

**AN: I have taken liberties with the myths around thunderbirds. I have also taken some liberties in reference to Native American Indians, I mean no one any harm or disrespect. I hope that you all continue to enjoy the story. **

**AN: I have received some reviews that are less than positive - which is helpful for keeping the story on track and keeping it readable and I am not against receiving such reviews (and I continue to try to reply to all reviews that are not posted as anonymous). A couple of minor points: there is an important reason for the set up at the end of this chapter, and it will be revealed with the next chapter. For those who like Ron and question my Ron bashing, I am sorry but I find his character abusive to Harry and Hermione in the books. In my opinion, he is lazy, rude, arrogant and as bigoted as Draco Malfoy in the books; and he was not a very faithful friend. Warning: the Weasley bashing in this story is not done - but it is not put in gratuitously...  
**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Previously….from the end of chapter 9…..**_

_The healer took a deep breath, and then slowly stated, "There is nothing we have that can heal a rupture to the magical core. I have never seen such an injury. I am consulting with healers throughout the country and even across Europe. No one has seen such an injury."_

_"But there must be something you can do," cried Daphne. Tracey put her arm around her friend's shoulders._

_"Have you ever broken a wand?" he asked. "Repairing a wand with a broken core just does not work. We can repair wands, and to repair the magical core of a wizard or witch, well, that is something that cannot be done."_

_Hermione asked the healer for Harry's possessions. He raised an eyebrow and handed her a small trunk. "His things have been placed into the trunk and then it was shrunken. Perhaps it should go to his friend," he added._

_Hermione returned the trunk to its normal size, opened it up and pulled out Harry's wand and handed it to Daphne. Daphne gave her a puzzled look and the healer had a look of confusion. "So, this is Harry's wand," she said as she looked at her friend, "do you think this wand can heal Harry?"_

_Hermione shook her head. "When we were hunting the horcruxes," Hermione began to explain and ignored the questioning looks from those around at the mention of the dark items, "I broke this wand of Harry's by mistake."_

_"But that's impossible," said Daphne, "I have seen him use this wand countless times."_

_Healer Richmond scoffed, "That can't be done. It would take something with the power of the fabled Elder Wand to repair such a thing, and we don't have time for children's stories and fairy tales. Your friend is dying, there is nothing that we can do."_

_Hermione glared at the man. "How much time before his core has completely leaked out?"_

_"With the size of his core, it would be a matter of days, maybe four or five at the most."_

_"Come Daphne," stated Hermione, "it seems we don't have much time."_

* * *

Hermione took Daphne by the hand and started to leave the room.

"What's going on? What are you doing Hermione?" demanded Daphne as she pulled he arm away from Hermione.

Tracey and her uncle were just staring at the two women, wondering what had gotten into Hermione. Healer Richmond had a concerned look on his face as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him. Hermione grunted in frustration, then she asked Healer Richmond for a private room where they all could talk. Soon they were all in a conference room and Hermione quickly cast silencing charms around the room and protective wards.

Everyone was staring at her like she was losing her mind.

"I need you all to swear an oath for secrecy about what I am about to tell you," insisted Hermione. She received blank stares and then she shouted, "Now, we don't have much time to waste!"

Quickly they all swore oaths on their magic, and then Hermione began to explain.

"The Elder Wand exists. The master of the Elder Wand is lying on a bed out there, with his magical core leaking and he will die if we do not go get the wand. Harry used the Elder Wand to mend his original wand, the one that was a twin to Tom Riddle's wand. It is back in England"

Everyone, even Daphne was shocked at this statement.

"It's why Harry did not stay dead after the last time Voldemort cast the killing curse at him. Harry is the master of the deathly hallows. He had all three of them, or at least he had control over all three of them before he entered the Forbidden Forest." Hermione sighed as she recalled the Battle of Hogwarts and the fear she had when it appeared that Harry was truly dead.

Tracey spoke up first. "So, you know where the wand is then. You just have to go get it and bring it back."

"It's not necessarily that simple," said Hermione. "Yes, I know where it is, but wands choose the wizard. The Elder Wand is no different. It chose Harry because Harry disarmed its previous master, even though that wizard had no idea they had become the master of the Elder Wand. Tom Riddle stole the wand, but he had no idea that the wand was not his to use. He thought he had the power over the Elder Wand when he killed Professor Snape."

"Dumbledore had the Elder Wand?" asked Daphne. "Snape gained control of the wand then by killing Dumbledore."

"No, but that is what Voldemort thought had happened," explained Hermione. "Dumbledore was unarmed when Snape killed him." She took a deep breath, and then she continued, "Somehow we have to get the one who had disarmed Dumbledore right before he was killed to agree to help us. He was the last one to have any control over the wand, and they may be the only one who can use the wand to save Harry."

Daphne frowned slightly, "So what's the problem?"

"The problem? Only trying to find Harry's biggest nemesis from school and somehow persuading Draco Malfoy to agree to help us." Hermione felt defeated as she considered her last statement.

Daphne's eyes grew wide. "Fine, we can do that," she said in a manner that was so self-assured that it amazed Hermione.

"How can you say that?" she asked Daphne.

"Because Draco is courting my little sister and he has already been making nice to Harry earlier this year," stated Daphne. "Harry and Draco have been hanging out together on occasion before we started this whole trip."

Hermione could have not been more shocked than she was now.

Tracey looked at the two witches and then she explained, "Then what the bloody hell are you waiting for? Go get the wand and get Draco!"

* * *

Hermione and Daphne arrived at Greengrass Manor after making several long distance floo connections. As they walked into the manor, Daphne was shouting to get the attention of anyone at home, even the house elves.

Isabella Greengrass walked into the parlour, wondering just what all the commotion was about.

"Mum!" called out Daphne as she gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I don't have time to explain, but we need to find Draco, now!"

Isabella Greengrass stepped back and gave her eldest daughter a hard look. Here she had been gone for well over a month on some sort of crazy adventure with that Harry Potter, and now she returns, hysterical and with some unknown witch by her side. She glanced between Daphne and the woman beside her as she thought there might be something familiar about her face. Daphne noted her mother's look and sideways glances.

"Oh, sorry mum," Daphne said in way of apology, "this is Hermione Granger." Isabella raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that Hermione Granger. We need to find Draco and we need him now. We have to get him to the States to help Harry."

Her mother was taken aback by the urgency in her daughter's voice. "I think that he and Astoria are out for the day at a park somewhere."

"Send a house elf to find them, and have them meet us in Hogsmeade, immediately," she said as she turned to back to the floo. "We'll be at the Three Broomsticks waiting for them, but they need to be quick!" With that, she and Hermione stepped into the floo again.

Isabella was beside herself over the abruptness of the conversation. She called for one of the house elves and then quickly explained what she needed him to do.

* * *

Hermione and Daphne were only waiting about fifteen minutes before Draco and Astoria walked into the Three Broomsticks to meet up with them.

Draco was almost dragging Astoria, who appeared distraught over the brief message they had received from the Greengrass family house elf.

"Where's Harry?" demanded Draco. "What's so urgent?" Then looking at Hermione, he added, "And what is the…what is she doing here?"

Hermione was about to say something but was immediately silenced by Daphne. "Get over yourself, Draco," she said trying to calm the situation as much as possible, "you showed signs of growing up before Harry and I left for Australia, so please do us all a favour and continue to act like the descent person you've been trying to become."

Astoria spoke up, "But where is Harry? What happened? And why do you need Draco?"

Hermione spoke up next, "I need you to listen carefully and quietly while I explain. We have a room upstairs that we have warded for protection, so I can explain there, and then we need to get on with why we are here, and hopefully you will agree to help us."

The somber tone of her words got everyone's attention and the quietly followed Hermione to the room which they had prepared. After securing the room with protective wards Hermione began to speak again. "First of all, Harry has been hurt and he is in a hospital in the United States, Saints Cosmos and Damian in New Orléans. Yes, it is a magical hospital."

Astoria squeezed Daphne's hand and then gave her a hug. Draco looked from Hermione to Daphne and saw the tears welling up in both of their eyes.

"How bad is he?" asked Draco, with obvious concern in his voice which surprised Hermione despite what she had heard from Daphne before they left New Orléans.

"He is dying," she answered bluntly, "but there is a chance that he might be healed, but only with the use of a very powerful wand, and it needs to be wielded by someone who can claim it." Hermione noted the blank looks on Draco and Astoria. "During the war, when you were sent to kill Dumbledore….Yes, I know you didn't do it, Snape did, but you disarmed him. Harry told me, he was there, hidden under his invisibility cloak. You disarmed him and then Snape killed Dumbledore."

Draco was shifting on his feet, feeling very uncomfortable with the conversation. "I was there Granger, you don't have to remind me of the events of that night."

Hermione frowned at him for interrupting her, "I know, but just listen. Then, during the war, when we were captured by the Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor, right before we escaped, Harry disarmed you, he took your wand from you."

"Yes, I remember, then there was the Battle of Hogwarts, and then he defeated Voldemort," added Draco, "we all know all of this."

"Shut up and listen," snapped Daphne.

Hermione groaned slightly at the continued interruptions. "When Harry disarmed you, he became master of your wand, and the wand you had unknowingly become master of when you disarmed the headmaster. That was the Elder Wand. That is the wand that Harry used to defeat Tom Riddle, that is the wand that may save Harry's life. You are not the master of the wand, but you were at one time. None of us have ever used the wand. But we need to get the wand, and take it and you to Harry and hope that the unspeakables and the healers have discovered a spell that could save Harry."

"If Harry had such a powerful wand, what did he do with it?" asked Draco, not fully sure he was believing everything that he was hearing.

"Harry returned it to Dumbledore's tomb, the same place that Voldemort stole it from just before the Battle of Hogwarts," added Daphne to finish the explanation.

Draco was rubbing his forehead as he tried to take all of this information in that his two classmates had just shared with him.

Hermione then added, "Look, we really don't have much time, let's go to the tomb. I'll send Headmistress McGonagall a patronus and ask her to meet us next to the tomb. We need to get going!"

With a flick of her wrist and an exclamation of "Expecto patronum!" a silver otter shot forth from her wand and scampered out of the room they were in. Next she released the wards in the room and then she lead the way out down the stairs and out of the Three Broomsticks heading towards the gate at the entrance to Hogwarts.

As they were heading up the street, Daphne noted that the building which once housed Zonko's Joke Shop now had a new sign out in front. In varying neon colours the sign flashed "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes 2." She shuddered at the thought of possibly running into one of the redheaded gits, remembering the last time she had run into Ron in Diagon Alley when she was with Harry, Draco and Astoria.

Ron stepped out of the door as he saw the foursome walking quickly up the road. He was surprised to see Hermione for the first time in almost three years, but he was even more surprised that she was in the company of three Slytherins. He couldn't hold back his anger has he stepped into the road in front of them and called out to Hermione.

"Funny seeing you again, Granger," he snarled. "And in the company of slimy snakes, no less. Well, I guess after you left me you really did drop your standards." The bile in his words matched his middle name.

Hermione stopped and glared at her former boyfriend. "Stuff it Ronald," she snapped at him. "We're busy and none of us have time for your childish rants."

Ron glared at each of the four in turn and nearly spat his words at Daphne and Draco. "So, where's Harry? What you do, have enough of him and leave him in a ditch somewhere? Or did you find out he was really broke and had no more use for him?"

Draco reached to draw his wand, but Astoria held his arm back.

"Letting your slut Slytherin girlfriend keep you out of trouble Malfoy?" Ron jeered.

"What is your problem, Weasel?" asked an obviously irritated Draco.

"You're one of my problems, ferret," replied Ron who was reaching for his wand.

Hermione noted the motion and she moved to step between the two hot-tempered young men. "Cut it out Ronald," she yelled in his face. "We need to get something and we'll be gone. Then we will be going to get Harry."

Ron reached out and grabbed Hermione's arm. "When did you become all chummy with the ferret who cursed you more times than I care to remember?"

"Unhand me!' screamed Hermione as she tore her arm away from his. "We need to leave." Then she turned and started to walk away pulling Draco with her, assuming that the sisters would just follow. Daphne started to walk behind them but she was keeping a careful eye on Harry's former mate.

Ron stared after them and the called out. "What are you needing to go to Hogwarts for?" as he watched them heading towards the school gates. His mind started to kick into gear as he realised that there was one thing that they might be going after, and Harry wasn't there to claim it as his own. Ron tried to think of anything else they would want so desperately from the school, and he could think of nothing other than the Elder Wand.

Losing all self control, Ron drew his wand and hollered "NOOOO!" as he began to cast spells at the group.

Daphne had been wary of Ron acting out and quickly she cast a protego spell, but the shield crumbled under the onslaught of the hex that Ron had cast at them.

Draco spun on his heal and started casting stunners at Ron, but Ron dove to the side and cast his own shield. Ron responded with a quick series of stinging and blasting hexes, making a mess out of the road as dirt and rocks were sent flying into the air. Astoria cried out as she was grazed by some of the debris. Hermione had pulled out her wand to cast another shield after Daphne's had collapsed and she quickly fired off a body bind spell which managed to trip Ron as he was starting to run after them.

Daphne then cast "expelliarmus" and had Ron's wand flying in the air towards her hand. Ron however had managed to get out of the body bind that had only attached to his feet and was now running unarmed towards the four.

Draco looked at Ron in shock at the thought that he would still continue to attack them even though he was bow without a wand. Draco considered various curses to send at the youngest male Weasley, but he quickly discounted them all as being to harsh to use on a defenceless person. Briefly he wondered where that idea had come from, but his wondering soon ceased as he felt the pain of Ron's fist connecting with his jaw.

Daphne hit Ron with a "stupefy spell" which caused him to drop in the middle of the road. Suddenly there was the sound of multiple pops as several Aurors arrived on the scene.

The representatives of the DMLE were questioning everyone including bystanders and they were soon convinced that the story told by Draco and Daphne was correct, that the unconscious young man at their feet had really started the whole incident, casting spells and chasing them even though he had not been provoked. After several minutes they dismissed the four while they grabbed Ron to bring him back to the ministry holding cell. "Might as well not rouse him until after he is put into the cell," commented one of the Aurors who remembered Ron from various calls to Diagon Alley over the past several months.

Several minutes later the group had entered the Hogwarts grounds and were on their way towards Dumbledore's tomb on the far side of the Black Lake. As they drew nearer to the white stone tomb, they noted the silhouette of an imposing woman standing near the tomb. They picked up their speed from a jog to an outright run to get to the tomb.

The four were breathing hard when they arrived to be subject to the stern gaze of the headmistress.

Minerva McGonagall glared at the four former students. "While I would usually say that I am happy to see you, Miss Granger, I must declare that the news I received from your patronus was both startling and quite disturbing." She raised a slight eyebrow as she contemplated just who Hermione's companions were, which caused her even more consternation. "This is highly unusual, and your choice of friends has me baffled. And on another note, whenever you, of all people, seem to get into trouble, Mr. Potter is not far behind. Where is Mr. Potter? Is he not far behind?"

Hermione was about to answer when Daphne gently took her arm and gave her a look. Turning to the headmistress she began to explain, "Professor, Harry and I have been a couple for several months. He is currently in a hospital over in the United States. Hermione and I have been working with Harry on a particular task and he was gravely injured."

Her strong façade was starting to crack as she was explaining the situation. Hermione noted this and gave Daphne a slight hug and then took up the explanation.

"Professor, we need the wand that was placed in Professor Dumbledore's tomb," she said simply.

McGonagall flinched at the idea.

"Let me explain more clearly," Hermione added, "the wand in his tomb is the Elder Wand. Dumbledore won that won from Grindewald many years ago. Voldemort wanted to take the wand as his own and when he had learned that the headmaster had been the last person in possession of it he came and took the wand from this tomb. However, he was mistaken as just possessing the wand does not make you the master of the Elder Wand. It has to be won in battle. Draco won it from him that night before the headmaster was killed. Then Harry won the wand from Draco the following year. It is rightfully Harry's wand. Harry used that wand to defeat Tom Riddle. We need that wand now to help save Harry, or he will surely die."

McGonagall looked from Hermione to Daphne and then to Draco. She always had concerns about the young Malfoy while he was a student and she remembered all too well the altercations that he would get into with one of her favourite lions when they were students.

Minerva trembled slightly as she spoke, "This is most irregular. And to think that you want the most powerful wand there ever was to be removed from this tomb, so that Mr. Malfoy could take possession of it. To say that I am concerned would be an understatement to say the least."

Astoria stepped forward before Draco could respond, "Professor, even in Slytherin house we all knew that you were always fair. In the spirit of that fairness, hear us when we assure you that Draco is not the same young man as he was those years ago back at school."

If Draco could have blushed, he would have with the comments made by his betrothed. "You may find it odd that I tell you this, and you may have no reason to believe what I say," said Draco, speaking up now, "but I have grown to consider Harry Potter as a friend. From the practical side, we may soon be related through marriage to the young women we fancy," Daphne started to blush at this comment, "but I have learned a respect for him that I never had before the Battle of Hogwarts. In fact, I personally owe him a life debt from that night."

The headmistress had heard more than enough to convince her that her presuppositions about this group were misplaced, but she still felt that something was wrong about this whole situation. She turned to Hermione to try and understand things better, "If what you say is true, then why is the Elder Wand back in the tomb? And why does no one know about it?"

"Harry wanted the Elder Wand to never be used for evil again. I am sure you know that its other name is the Death Stick," said Hermione. "Harry's goal was to have the Elder Wand hidden away so that if and when he dies, then it will no longer have a master. It would be best for it to remain an object of children's stories and myth. However, there was an accident."

Hermione shivered at the thought of Harry essentially in a coma with his magical core slowly leaching out as he lay in the bed at Saints Cosmos and Damian Hospital. Daphne emboldened herself to take up the story for Hermione. "Harry was attempting to retrieve the tail feather of a thunderbird when he was cast down from the sky. He had a special robe and protective charms which prevented his body from experiencing any significant physical harm, but the result of the impact in combination with previous magical attacks he has suffered resulted in his magical core essentially being shattered. His magic is seeping away and he will die from the loss of magic in a matter of days if nothing can be done about it." Daphne herself was now overcome with emotion as the full impact of her own words to the headmistress crashed down on her own being.

"My word," gasped McGonagall. "Harry never does anything the easy way." She looked at the emotional pain that was evident in both Hermione and Daphne, and she could feel the anxiety that even Astoria and Draco felt towards Mr. Potter, and she was deeply moved. "Very well, what would you have me do?"

Hermione shuffled her feet slightly and ten began to explain. "We need to remove the wand from the tomb. I am sure we could do it, but having a master in transfiguration do it for us, and the blessing of the headmistress to boot, would make it a little easier," she said.

Daphne added, "Not to mention that we know we can trust you not to share this information with anyone."

Minerva did not need to think very hard about the situation as they had already done a very good job explaining the reasons why this was necessary. She refused to even consider the phrase that this might be 'for the greater good' but she did understand that this was needed to save one of her favourite students from throughout her entire teaching career, but he saviour of the magical world. The headmistress let out a slight sigh before responding, "Very well, I will help you all with this."

She stared at the white stone tomb and then she snapped her wand quickly as she said a few barely audible phrases. The tomb opened suddenly, and the wand floated upwards. Daphne noticed it first and made a move to grasp it, but Draco's reflexes were quicker and he suddenly held onto the fabled wand that at one time had been his to control, even if he never realised that at the time.

McGonagall looked over at the wand and simply stated, "Would you mind terribly if I had a closer look at this storied wand? After all it is not every day you happen upon one of the Deathly Hallows, and the most infamous one at that."

Draco silently proffered the thin wooden instrument of magic to her. She hesitantly reached out and grasped the wand lightly, and made a few quick wand movements. There was barely any response to what she did, only a minimal amount of sparks shot forth. She gave a slight cough that indicated that she was less than pleased with the feel of the wand. She then extended her arm to hand the wand back to Draco. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," she said with a tight smile. "It is not at all what I expected, but I can at least say that I held the Elder Wand," then she paused before clarifying, "although I can't tell anyone about this, now, can I?" She gave a slight laugh as she thought about that. "Well, then, I guess it will just be our little secret."

Hermione smiled at her former head of house and the stepped forward and gave her a slight hug in silent thanks. The headmistress blushed slightly and then broke the hug. "Now then," she said to the four former students, "shouldn't you be on your way? Go take care of Mr. Potter. And please, all of you, be safe and no foolishness!"

The four said their thanks and their goodbyes and then they headed towards the Hogwarts gate so they could apparate back to London and begin their series of international travel to return to New Orléans.

* * *

At a conference room at Saints Cosmos and Damian's Hospital there was an intense discussion between Healer Richmond and several unspeakables, including Timothy Johnson.

"A simple repairing spell could not possibly be of any use here," stated the healer adamantly.

"But we do not know that," argued a tall but balding man who wore robes of a light grey. "This is the Elder Wand that those young people claim they will be returning with, the power in that wand is unmatched. A simple repairing spell could do amazing things."

The healer shook his head in frustration. "It's not in the nature of the spell to be able to do such repair," countered the healer.

The second unspeakable, a shorter man, slightly overweight, with dark brown hair and a dark complexion joined the debate. "How about a spell to repair a wineskin or some other such container? You have stated that Mr. Potter's magic is leaking out of his core. Have you tried such a spell?"

"Yes, Hopkins, my staff has tried over a dozen variations of such a spell. If you would like, I can give you a paper bag that will never let a drop of any liquid seep through it, but that has not been shown to be of any advantage to our patient." Richmond sat back in his chair and sighed.

Tim Johnson raised his hand to get their attention.

"This isn't grade school," chided the shorter unspeakable, Hopkins, as he glared slightly at Tim. "You don't need to get permission to speak."

Tim ignored the jab as he gave a suggestion, "How about a variation of the binding spell, the type of spell that some parents will use to bind a young witch or wizard's core to help prevent problems from accidental magic?"

Hopkins scoffed at the thought. The older unspeakable looked at Johnson as he rubbed his chin, "You might be onto something here, Tim."

"Thank you, Gus," he replied.

Gus Carleton had not become the head of the unspeakables within the United States Congress of Magic without learning how to appease those who he had to work with, and he often wondered how someone as irritable as Michael Hopkins had reached such a level within his own department. Carleton turned to the healer, "Perhaps we can use this idea from Johnson, use a binding spell, but use it to contain the magical core, not constrain it."

The healer nodded his head slightly as he considered the suggestion. "It might at least be a start." Continuing to think along this line, he then added, "Or use that in combination with a body bind curse, but we would need to work on a new rune sequence that would cause it to work on the magical core instead of the body."

Johnson shook his head as he dismissed the idea, "Not enough time to get it to work, if your current status reports are correct."

Richmond nodded slightly as he quietly admitted that Johnson was probably correct.

Hopkins spoke up again, "Have you determined what the affect of all of this magic leaking out around him is having on those nearby? And why is his leaking magic such a problem anyway? Most of us have experienced magical exhaustion. And even if he did lose all of his magic, why wouldn't he end up just being a muggle?"

"Magic doesn't work that way, Hopkins," snapped Richmond. "There comes a time when a wizard or witch has been using their magic for so long that their very life force is connected to it. Mr. Potter is no exception to this and possibly it may be affecting him more than others considering his previous experiences. If it was your magical core leaking at the rate his is, you probably would have been dead two days ago," he added to try and silence the ridiculous comments from Hopkins.

Tim Johnson tried to get a consensus as he asked, "So, what would you recommend be tried first? A binding charm? A healing spell?"

"Which one?" asked Richmond, "there are plenty to choose from, and everything I have tried has done nothing so far."

Richmond then looked to Carleton for his opinion. Gus frowned slightly as he considered their options. "Perhaps start with a healing spell or two, and a repairing charm, then try the binding charm if that is not successful. A spell to fix leaks might be another idea if nothing else is working."

The healer then looked around the room and closed the folder he had opened in front of him. "Well, now we wait for the others to return, hopefully with the Elder Wand, if it truly exists." With that comment all those in the room stood up to leave.

It was only a few hours after that conference was concluded when Hermione, Daphne and Draco came rushing onto the ward where Harry was being kept. The staff noted their arrival and immediately sent a message to Healer Richmond letting him know that they were back at the hospital. Ten minutes later the healer had arrived and he was shortly joined by Tim Johnson and Gus Carleton. Uncle Tim introduced the master unspeakable to everyone and Daphne introduced Draco to the staff. Richmond suggested that everyone gather at the conference room once again to review the plans. He explained the opinions of the various people involved with analysing the situation. Carleton then carefully explained which spells Draco would use and they reviewed the incantations and the wand movements.

He seemed wary of a young man without any training as a healer being the one to cast these spells. "What experience do you have with such spells?" asked the unspeakable. "This is not some simple stunning spell we are about to ask you to do."

Draco fought back responding with a sneer. "I am completing my first year of Auror training in England, and I had a fair amount of advanced training while I was a student, including in areas that are not normally part of the curriculum. I have learned several of the healing charms for simple injuries even up to _Vulnera_ _Sanentur_, and I am well aware of the necessity in repeating that spell for some forms of healing." He winced slightly as he recalled his experience of suffering from the _sectumsempra_ spell which Harry had cast on him during their sixth year.

Healer Richmond had a confused look on his face and Carleton raised a puzzled eyebrow at the comment. Tracey's uncle added for clarification, "What this young man is not telling you is that he comes from a family that supported the Dark Lord who recently tried to take over England. The very same Dark Lord that the patient was personally responsible for defeating."

Healer Richmond spoke up, "This is highly irregular. You expect me to allow someone who actively supported that crazy despot and was therefor an enemy of my patient to come in and cast spells to try and save his life? What are we to do if her tries something else?"

Carleton looked at Richmond with a cold hard stare. "Then it would be no different from what you are telling us will happen within the next day or so if we were to do nothing." He turned to the young women who were present. "I presume that you were Harry's friends before, during the war I mean."

Hermione nodded, but Daphne explained that she had only recently gotten to know Harry.

Carleton nodded in understanding as it was already made clear that there were no magical relatives to seek for advice. "Is there anyone else who should be present?" he asked of everyone in the room. No one suggested any other individuals, so then he asked Draco if he could examine the wand. Draco carefully offered the Elder Wand for inspection. The senior unspeakable held it gingerly, and examined it closely, but would not grasp the handle as if he were trying to cast a spell. Looking up at Draco he commented, "It is quite exquisite in its design and craftsmanship. It has a unique feel to it." He paused for a moment as he looked it over once more before handing it back with a final comment, "May you use it well."

Draco nodded silently as he reached out and took the wand back and slid it into his pocket. He kept his usual wand in a wand holster on the inside of his right arm, but he did not want to become accustomed to this wand which he knew was not really his to possess.

The group solemnly filed out and returned to the ward where Harry was. He had been moved into a private room and as everyone walked into the room, Carleton cast charms to prevent anyone from interrupting them in addition to the usual charms for silencing the room.

"Very well, you may begin," said Carleton. "Begin with the repairing spell, then cast the healing spells you know. Then Richmond will assess what you have done."

Hermione looked at Draco, almost pleading with her eyes for him to make this work. Draco looked at Harry and shuddered slightly as he saw his friend, once nemesis, lying there, unresponsive. He called upon his upbringing as a self-important pureblood to keep any hint of emotion from appearing on his face. He then pulled out the Elder Wand and made a few quick practice wand movements as he reviewed the spells in his mind. He knew the spells well and he concentrated on the words and the determination to put as much magic as possible into the spells.

"_Reparo_," he said firmly as he cast the spell, followed by the healing spells _episkey_, _reparifors_ and then he cast _vulnera_ _sanentur_ three times in rapid succession. There was a series of white and then yellow and then blue magical light that encompassed his body.

Harry's body shook violently and then he let out a loud cry as if in pain. Daphne shrieked as she was startled by this reaction and Hermione quickly wrapped her arms around her new friend to comfort her and restrain her from interfering.

Richmond cast several spells to asses Harry's condition and that of his magical core.

"The ebbing of his core is slowing down," he exclaimed. "Repeat the spells!" he ordered.

Draco cast the same spells in the same order. He recalled that when Snape had healed him from the _sectumsempra_ curse that the healing spell needed to be cast repeatedly, so this time he called out _vulnera_ _sanentur_ a fourth time.

"Can you bind his core?" called out Richmond as he continued to survey the status of Harry's core.

Draco gave a look of surprise and confusion.

Carleton stepped forward. "Let me try a modification of that spell," he said as he snapped his wand into his hand and began a series of ritualistic chants.

Richmond looked up as he assessed Harry one more time. "It seems to be working, but the damage is not fully repaired to his magical core." He looked at Draco. "One more time, young man."

Draco nodded silently. He was not expecting the drain on his own magical core, and he was starting to break out in a sweat. He started to cast the spells, and he decided to add a fifth _vulnera_ _sanentur_ this time. As he finished he collapsed to his knees and Harry once again screamed out in pain as he body convulsed. Daphne was now sobbing in fear at what this would mean. Hermione let go of her as she ran over to catch Draco before he fell to the floor.

Richmond was again reassessing the effects on Harry. He started to smile brightly. "It's working," he called out. Carleton let out a sigh of relief, and Johnson pumped his fist. Daphne looked up at Harry and then towards the healer. She was calming herself down when she looked over at Draco who was now sitting in a chair after assistance from Hermione. She walked over to her sister's betrothed and gave him a light kiss on his forehead as she whispered "Thank you" to him.

There was another cry from Harry who was still unresponsive and Daphne turned around to watch Harry start to convulse.

Richmond was frantically casting spells to assess what was happening and Carleton had now begun his own magical assessments as well. Gus raised an eyebrow. "Highly unusual," he said softly.

"Unheard of," said Richmond. "This is beyond amazing," he muttered in shock.

Hermione was now standing at Harry's side as his seizure stopped and she looked at the two men. The healer and the unspeakable were talking in hushed tones, conferring about what they were detecting. Daphne had now joined Hermione at her side and was holding Harry's still hand. "What's wrong?" she pleaded.

"Nothing," said Carleton simply.

"His core has been healed," said a stunned Richmond. "In fact, it seems to be larger than before, if anything his capacity for magic has increased at this time. I have no explanation for this, other than it must be some side effect from using the Elder Wand."

Daphne squeezed Harry's hand tightly and kissed him on the lips. Harry started to stir slightly, which was more of a reaction than he had to another stimuli since his injury, other than his screams during the healing process.

"He may not fully wake up for hours," explained Richmond trying to allay their fears and anticipate their questions. "He will need to rest for quite some time." He looked at everyone in the room. "Travel of almost any kind would be right out of the question for several days."

Tim Johnson spoke up. "When he is well enough to leave here, you are all welcome to stay with us in New Hampshire before returning over seas. I presume that traveling much farther than that would not be advisable for quite some time."

The healer nodded in agreement.

Draco was still feeling drained when Richmond had arranged for him to receive a pepper-up potion. Draco initially waved it away, but Hermione encouraged him to take it anyway. She then gave him a hug as she quietly thanked him again for coming to help out Harry.

Draco gave a wry smile as he said, "Who would have ever thought that Granger the Know-It-All would ever give me a hug willingly, or that it would because I had just willingly helped the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Things change," replied Hermione, "and sometimes they can change for the better."

* * *

**AN: A shorter chapter than usual, but it was an important transition to the next part of the adventure…..**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: These story is rate T - and it will remain that way — so there will be NO lemons….**

**Also, Harry and Daphne will be getting together — eventually — so for those who are anxiously awaiting their big moment — you may have to wait a bit…**

**This story will have more presentations of Weasleys in less than a positive light. If that bothers you, I am alerting you now. In this story, such characterisations work for me, and no offence is meant to those readers who like Ginny or even Ron. Remember this is AU - it is not the Ron or Ginny from canon, nor is it the Harry or Hermione from canon — too little is known about Daphne from canon to make a strong opinion, which is one reason why I think many authors like to use her character in stories. Enough of my ranting and comments, let's get back to the story — which is mine, but based on characters and a world created by someone else who has made a fortune off of this while I make nothing.**

**AN2: Sorry about the short chapter….but that's the way this one worked out…**

**AN3: Also, as I cannot address guest reviews directly, they do not necessarily get posted. Having received a rather long and negative review recently from an anonymous person who did not like my dialogue or the way I developed the story, all I can say is: 1. I do work hard on the dialogue and there are reasons for some of the wordy names, as sometimes when people are being snarky they will elaborate someones name who they do not like, 2. The use of what even I consider awkward nicknames, such as the Gryffindor Golden Boy is usually used by those who use it sarcastically. Awkward yes, but many times when people are speaking sarcastically they choose to use such ridiculous labels and phrases. After 180 reviews, that was the first one which slammed my writing style. While that review was deleted, I am not ignoring it, as evidenced by my commenting on it here. Anyway, on with the story...  
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* * *

Los Angeles, California

Hotel Suite in the Century Plaza Hotel

A tall, well tanned and blonde man casually walks across the hotel room flipping through a newspaper. He ignores the moving pictures on the front page. He takes a seat in one of the lush chairs next to a small table. Finding the sports section he quickly scans the article on the latest quidditch match.

"Hey, Red," he calls out, "they don't say much about your ten goals in last nights game. You would think that the Los Angeles Lancers won their debut exhibition game last night the way they go on about it here."

He received a grunt and a pillow tossed accurately at his head from the woman with the sheets still pulled over her head as she lay in the bed.

The blonde man tossed the sports section aside and he looked at the next section. "Hey, the celebrity section of the paper here says something about some famous English wizard being treated at Saints Cosmos and Damian's Hospital in New Orléans. Didn't you know that Potter guy?"

The woman in the sheets sat up like someone had jolted her with a cattle prod. "What did you just say?"

"That Harry Potter dude," he said in his laid back Southern California speak, "says here he is in some sort of coma. Or at least it's rumoured that it is him."

"Give me that bloody paper," she screamed at the blonde.

"You need to chill, Red," said the blonde man as he stood up and walked towards the bed to hand the woman the paper.

The woman ignored the surfboards moving around the man's boxers as she grabbed the paper out of his hand and pushed a lock of long red hair out of her face and behind her ear. She looked at a picture taken of two women entering a hospital, one with long blonde hair and the other with light brown hair pulled back into a pony tail. She could have sworn she recognised the two but the picture was taken from too far away. Quickly she scanned the article but the only reference to who ever was in the picture stated that two witches who were with him refused to speak with anyone or identify who they were. The writer went on to speculate that one of them was the heiress to the Greengrass Import business in England, the other woman was not identified.

"That Greengrass bitch," muttered the red-head as she looked at the article and then back at the picture. She jumped out of the bed and the sheet fell to the floor revealing her naked body to the blonde man who enjoyed ogling her. The redhead turned to him and spat her anger towards the unsuspecting young man, "So, Brad," she began to say.

"Um, my name's Greg," corrected the blonde man.

"Whatever, I don't bloody care," she snapped, "why don't you go find some bimbo on the beach and show of your moves and that surfboard of yours, I need to leave."

Greg was shocked as he stared at the naked woman in front of him.

"And stop staring, you already saw enough of me. You had your cheap thrills with the best Quidditch player you'll ever meet, so go on and leave. I don't expect to see you when I get out of the shower," she said as she was walking way from him towards the bathroom. She did not stop to see if she listened to him as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

* * *

A week later…

"Now Harry," said Tracey's uncle, "you did need to rest here before the healer will clear you for international travel of any sort. I know you don't want to lie here but you have your friends and you my family, we just want to help you recover. So please, don't be causing any trouble, let us show you some of our New England hospitality and you just relax and enjoy the nice early summer days."

Harry indicated he would with a nod, and then turned to his girlfriend who was sitting by his side. "You're enjoying this way too much," he quipped.

"Oh, shush, you," she said as she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "You gave us all a right scare with everything that happened, so you owe us all and you will follow the healers orders for the next week."

Harry rolled his eyes. Then he turned to Hermione who was walking by at the time, "You know, Hermione, she is starting to remind me of how you were anytime I ended up in the infirmary under Madame Pomfrey's care."

Hermione gave a wry smile as she replied, "If you don't behave I'll arrange for her to come make a house call." With that she continued on her way to sit on the porch and start reading another book.

Harry resigned himself to staying put, at least for now. Daphne gave him a mock frown, "How bad can it be?" she asked.

As he looked up into her violet-blue eyes, his frustration with his situation melted. "Well, I guess this definitely does beat being in the infirmary wing at Hogwarts or even being at Saints Cosmos and Damian's Hospital in New Orléans." He sighed slightly and then raised his eyebrows as he thought out loud, "We could at least get started on preparing for the next stage."

Daphne narrowed her eyes, "You prat, you try and die on us going into that storm, facing the thunderbird in the midst of a class 5 tornado, and you already are moving on to the next part of the mission?"

Harry smiled sweetly, "Hey, this is for you as well as it is for me."

"Flattering me like that won't help," she said with an equally fake smile in return. After allowing her smile to relax, she continued, "But we can start working on the plans for that soon, Hermione is sure to have some ideas."

Harry looked around the room, he was still exhausted from his ordeal, and then he turned back to Daphne. "So, where is Draco? Didn't he come back here to the Johnson's home with everyone?"

Daphne squeezed his hand lightly, "He needed to get back to England. He is still in Auror school, unlike some people I know."

Harry could sense her internal frustration, so he asked, "Is that comment in reference to me or Ron?"

"Ron, the stupid bloody git," she said flatly. Then turning to look at Harry she continued, "What is that man's problem? Why would he be stupid enough to pick a fight with four of us, and do it over and over?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Obviously he has issues, both with me and with Hermione. Perhaps even with how is life has turned out. He was jealous of my fame when we were in school, a fame I never wanted nor did anything to earn. Now he is jealous of the fame I did earn and the fact that he wasn't lauded as much as I was. He claimed to be my friend when we were at school, when it was easy to be my friend." Harry paused and looked at Daphne, "I know I attract trouble like I'm some sort of carp magnet, but I really don't go looking for it."

"No, flying into a storm after a thunderbird isn't looking for trouble," she interjected, with the sarcasm dripping off her every word.

Harry winced slightly at her statement. "But that is still the fallout of everything else that I did nothing to earn. I didn't make the prophecy. Riddle chose me as his target and the subject of that prophecy. Ever since then I have had this target on my back, or my forehead. I didn't ask to be the one to have to fight Riddle or to be the one to destroy his Horcruxes. Now, everything that I am doing is based on digging myself out of the various holes that whole mess left me in. My debt to the goblins is due to needing to get Helga Hufflepuff's cup. If there was another way to get that cup, we obviously couldn't figure that out. Can't change any of that now, it's all water under the bridge."

His voice started to turn melancholy.

Daphne lifted his chin with her fingers so he had to look her in the eyes again. "Hey, those of us here really do understand that. Hermione is here because she is your friend. She gave up her job at the ministry in Australia to help you out. I'm here with you because I want to be with you."

Harry tried to force a smile. "I've known for over a year what I needed to do to deal with the goblins. I wasn't sure I really wanted to go through all of that trouble. Now I know I need to see this through. For you. For us. That day we met in the pub, everything has changed for me since then. You've given me a clearer reason to go on than any I've had before."

Daphne narrowed her eyes once more at him. "Fighting for your survival against Riddle wasn't a reason to go on?"

"That's the thing, that was for survival," he said as he took her hands in his. "But this, this is different. This is because I choose to do it to make you happy, to make me happy. This is more about choice. This is about taking control of my life with the hope of truly having a life that is mine, mine to share with those whom I chose to share it with."

Harry's sentimentality brought a slight tear to Daphne's eye and she leaned in and kissed him softly on his lips.

* * *

New Orléans

Saints Cosmos and Damian Hospital

The receptionist was frustrated with the young woman in front of her. "For the final time, I am not sure how else to tell you this, I don't care who you think you are but we cannot give you that information. You may be his girlfriend, but that means nothing without a release from any patient that gives us authorisation to release any information to anyone."

The red-headed woman in front of the receptionist was pouting. "Well, can you do me a favour of a different sort?" she asked, thinking she may have outsmarted the receptionist. "I am sure a mutual friend of Harry's and mine is here visiting him. Maybe you could page her, or have someone contact her, and then she could come talk to me."

She noted a pensive look on the receptionist. "Just get a message to Hermione Granger, or my other school friend, Daphne Greengrass," she added, "either one of them would come talk to me."

The receptionist looked down at her list of guests in the hospital building, and then commented "I am sorry but neither one of them have been here for a few days."

With a sweet smile, the red-head just said "Thank You" to the receptionist and turned away as she smirked to herself. "Well, even if I don't know where they are, I know that Harry is not here any more."

* * *

Ron Weasley was sitting in the stock room of his brother's store in Hogsmeade. He was reading the latest edition of the Daily Prophet, checking the Quidditch scores and looking to see just how his Chudley Cannons were doing in the standings. He wasn't interested in working very hard on the inventory that his brother had assigned him to review as a punishment for the supposed embarrassment that he had caused by starting that fight in the street with the Slytherins. Ron could hardly even acknowledge to himself that Hermione had been there and that she had been associating with those three.

He was so engrossed in the paper that he had not heard the door to the stock room open and close. He was startled as a newspaper and a magazine were thrown on the table in front of him. He looked briefly at the two periodicals and then up at the intruder on his private time.

"Hey Gin, it's a surprise to see you here today," he said with a startled smile. "I was just taking a quick break before finishing up this inventory thing George asked me to get done for him."

"Stuff it Ron," snapped Ginny. "Just look at what's in front of you."

"You're standing in front of me," he replied dimly.

"Did mom drop you on your head too many times when you were a baby?" she sighed. She pointed to the magazine and the newspaper.

Ron picked up the paper and looked at the article on the cover, something about the immigration of wizards and witches to the United States from south and Central America. He gave her a puzzled look.

"Open it up, look inside," she said with exasperation.

"Hey, the Harpies beat that new team in Los Angeles, the Lancers is it?" Then he turned to his sister, "Brilliant! Great play there. 490 − 20. You ladies really showed them yanks."

"Thanks," she said quickly but then her smile left her face as she swatted him on the side of the head. "Not that section, turn to the next section."

Ron rubbed the side of his head and opened the paper to the next section. "The Boy-Who-Lived in a coma in a magical hospital in New Orléans," he read out loud. "So that's what they were on about."

"Who was on about what?" demanded Ginny.

"Granger came by last week, with Malfoy and the Slytherin scum Greengrass sisters. I was surprised that Hermione would stoop so low so as to be with them."

"What? Where did you see them?" she asked again.

"Out in the street, they were on their way to Hogwarts. The last time I saw Malfoy and those two Greengrass bints, they were with Harry at Diagon Alley. We kind of got into a bit of a row then, and again last week." Ron looked away from Ginny as he mentioned this.

"Why were they heading to Hogwarts?" she asked.

"I don't know," he mused, "they were gone long before I was released."

"They put you in the hospital? St. Mungos?" queried Ginny.

"No, from the holding cell at the DMLE," he said. "Four on one and they put me in the jail. Malfoy must still be paying people off," he muttered.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "What would they want at Hogwarts, Ron? You must know. They must have returned to New Orléans right after that, as they were seen there the end of last week, but then they left."

Ron gave her a questioning look at her last statement.

"Look at the magazine," she said simply pointing at the other publication she had thrown in front of him earlier.

He picked up the issue of "I Heart Teen Witch" and he perused the cover.

"Fifty ways to get that wizard to notice you without using a love potion."

"The Weird Sisters or Wizards Jam, is British or American magical music better?"

"Twenty useful charms to use before your next date."

Ron looked up at Ginny, "Err, this isn't my sort of thing, I thought you knew that. This is trash."

"Keep reading," she snapped at him.

"Mystery patient at Saint Cosmos and Damian, Is the Boy-Who-Lived Dying here in the States?"

"Now look at the picture," she directed.

Ron looked at the photo and he noted that picture of the afore-mentioned hospital had a trio walking into the front door, and he readily recognised that it must be Hermione with Malfoy and the older Greengrass sister.

"Is that where Harry is?" he asked. "Is he really dying? Did he die?"

"Of course he didn't die," she said, completely exasperated with her brother's slowness. "That would have made the papers everywhere. But those bitches and that slime Malfoy were there visiting my Harry and now they're all gone. I want to know what's going on but no one is telling me anything, and I have to get back to my team."

"What do you want me to do about it then?" asked Ron.

"Idiot! I want you to find out what's going on. Start with finding out why they came here, why they had Malfoy with them. Then find out where they went and what happened. Something funny is going on and I'm not laughing."

"All right, Ginny, I'll see what I can do," said Ron, "don't get your knickers all in a twist."

"Thanks Ron," she said as she gave him a quick hug. "I'll square everything with George for you so you can get working on this right away. Start at Hogwarts, head over to the states. Find out what the bloody hell is going on."

With that she turned and walked out of the stock room, leaving Ron a little shocked. Picking up the magazine again, he flipped through some pages as he muttered, "twenty useful charms, eh…"

* * *

Harry looked out over the lake from the porch where the group was sitting. Tracey Davis was glad that she had her best friend, Daphne Greengrass visiting again, even if it was because her boyfriend was here to recuperate after a nearly fatal accident on one of his trademark adventures. Tracey looked out over the lake with Harry as she commented, "You know, this is one of the largest lakes in the world without a single island."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "That sounds more like something Hermione would have to say."

Hermione frowned, "Is that all I am to you? A repository of obscure facts?"

"Sometimes, yeah, that would describe it," he said with a laugh.

Hermione slapped his arm with a chuckle, "You git," was all she said.

"So, Tracey, how long have your relatives lived here?" asked Harry.

"My aunt and uncle moved here after he started working as an unspeakable for the Congress of Magic. He met my aunt when she was traveling after she graduated from Hogwarts. I had hardly ever seen them before the end of the war, when I had no where else to go," her voice trailed off as she remembered what happened to her parents during her seventh year. Her father was muggle born so her family was targeted by the Death Eaters.

Daphne reached out and squeezed her friend's arm. "You know you could have always stayed with us," she said gently.

"You know that would have been too much on your family, with the condition your family's business was in," she replied leaning towards her best friend.

"You could come back with us," smiled Daphne. "Things are different, things are changing."

"I know," said Tracey soberly, "but I now have this opportunity through the Salem Institute to study healing, and I've always been interested in that. Maybe, after I finish my training."

Harry could see that his girlfriend still missed her best friend, and he felt for her. Deciding he needed to change the subject, he called out to Hermione. "So, my favourite repository, have you helped us figure out how to deal with a chimera?"

"Not yet, but I am working on it," answered Hermione without looking up from the book she had buried herself in, "but I better come up with something, cause Merlin knows we can't leave the planning up to you anymore. If the next accident you suffer from going off on one of your own poorly thought out ordeals doesn't kill you, Daphne and I might be there to finish the job. So you better stay safe and be smart, because we're not putting up with that kind of stress again."

Harry grinned at her threat, but he knew he better be careful or he would surely be chastised quite thoroughly if he had any sort of serious mishap in the future. The girls thought he was reckless, he felt he was determined and bold, but in the end he knew he was lucky if not just well prepared.

The next day the four young friends were again sitting on the porch, enjoying the warm June sunshine. Hermione closed the book she had in front of her. "So, we need a plan," she said simply.

Tracey eyed her carefully. "You mean a plan for the rest of the day, for the rest of the summer, or for life in general?"

Hermione winced at Tracey's comments. "We need a plan for dealing with the chimera."

"Count me out," said Tracey. "I have school in the fall again and I'm not getting involved in any of your crazy adventures."

Daphne sighed. Then looking at Hermione she asked, "So what do we know about this chimera? It's got three heads or something."

Hermione took out her notepad where she had been busily writing down all of the information she could find. "Well, we know that chimeras can be found in or around Greece, if they even still exist at all. My hunch is that we would have to go to a Greek Island to find one, probably one of the smaller ones. Well, they are quite large and they have voracious appetites and they are usually ill-tempered."

"Hermione, please get to the point," interrupted a frustrated Daphne. Harry just smirked at the interplay.

With a slight huff, Hermione continued. "Well, they do have three heads. There is the lion's head at the front, the goats head either to the side or behind it. And then there is the tail, which has the head of a poisonous asp. It is that venom that Harry says he needs for the next part."

Harry looked up from the notebook on his lap. "Well, to be clear, the chimera has to be alive when we collect the venom."

"What?" exclaimed Daphne.

"It's all right here in the notes I took," he answered simply showing the ladies his notebook. "You would have been proud of me Hermione, taking all of these notes on my own and doing all of that research without you there to guide me."

"You could only do that because of all of the help I gave you back in school," she said smugly.

Harry simply nodded his agreement with her statement. "So, anyone have any great ideas on how we can catch a chimera, get it to give us some venom, keep it alive the while time and have none of us get killed or injured?" he asked as he looked around the group.

Holding her hands up in front of her, Tracey quickly stated, "Don't look at me, guys, you all are the crazy ones who go off on your little death defying adventures."

Daphne stuck her tongue out at her friend. Then she turned to Harry, "Well we could ask Hagrid to come along, and have him wrestle the beast to the ground, and then you use that talking to snake thing and ask it to give us some venom."

"What a great idea!" exclaimed Harry. "Only thing is, I think I might have lost the ability to use Parseltongue when the horcrux in my scar was destroyed." Letting go of the sarcasm he then looked at Daphne, "But thanks for the idea."

Daphne glared at her boyfriend only momentarily before giving him a smile. Tracey through a small pillow from the chair she was sitting on at her friend. "You two cut that out, we don't need you to ruin your appetite with how sweet you can be."

Hermione looked at the three friends, and then she quietly stated, "Well, part of that might work."

They all spun around and stared at Hermione. "Which part?" demanded Harry.

"Getting Hagrid to wrestle the beast. He is part giant. He likes to hang out with acromantula, so he is not afraid of a little poison, and his idea of a big scary and dangerous animal is not the same as ours. After all," she continued, "he did want to raise a dragon as a pet."

"Don't worry, we'll be getting back to dragons soon enough," added Harry dryly.

"Well, I suppose we could ask him," said Daphne meekly, "couldn't we? He always seemed to like you guys."

"It couldn't hurt," chimed in Tracey.

"So says the one who already opted out," retorted Daphne.

"Well, we could go ask him, or send him an owl," suggested Hermione.

"No owls, no communication with others," harry stated firmly. "We can talk to him. But if Hagrid isn't there at the school, or he can't or won't join us, then we need another plan."

"We could try stunning the creature," said Daphne.

"They are remarkably resistant to magic," replied Hermione. "And we don't want to risk killing the snake head."

"I'd rather see a stunned chimera with a dying snake head tail then be in a death match with one," commented Daphne.

"Multiple body bind spells," said Harry as he was thinking out loud.

"Does Merlin have any stronger stunning spells or such that we can learn?" asked Hermione.

"Well, we could take a look," answered Harry as he thought about her question. Then turning to face her he added, "You'd love the chance to get in there and do your own research, wouldn't you?" he asked rhetorically

Hermione beamed at him. "Of course I would and you know that. Do you think I really could go into the hall of Secrets?"

"We'll see," he answered simply.

* * *

"So why do I have to go to the states?" asked Ron again.

"I've already explained this to you multiple times, Ronald," answered Ginny as they sat at a table eating lunch at a muggle sidewalk café not far from Diagon Alley. "I've already been there, and they might recognise you as part of the famed Golden Trio. You might actually be able to dig up some answers about what they are up to, or where they went. I'm sure they haven't returned to England, well, other than Draco and it is already confirmed he is still in Auror training."

"Don't remind me," spat Ron.

"So remember," continued Ginny as she ignored Ron's comment, "you need to find out why they were in the states, why the bints came back to England and returned to New Orléans with Malfoy."

"I already have a pretty good idea of why they came back to the Hogwarts," grumbled Ron.

"Whatever," commented Ginny not really listening to her brother. "Look, I really need to go, I have practice shortly so I need to floo back over to the training pitch. Have fun, send me an owl as soon as you find something out."

With that she stood up and walked away. Ron looked down and growled silently as he saw she left the bill for him to pay.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks Harry was allowed to increase his activities as he gained his strength. From jogging around the area, to swimming in the lake, the group worked with Harry to help him increase his stamina and strength. When the mediwitch from the Congress of Magic, a family friend of the Johnsons, finally released Harry to return to what ever activities he was inclined to do, as well as allowing him to travel once again, the friends were eager to begin their quest for the chimera. Harry, Daphne and Hermione all thanked Tracey and her aunt and uncle for their hospitality as they headed to Boston to travel back to England.

**Author's Note: I have been trying to keep up with replies to the reviews, and this chapter has generated many - both positive and negative. To be fair to those who have complained, Ron and Ginny are both OOC the way I am writing them. Also, Harry states he "thinks he might have lost the ability for parseltongue" - Dumbledore had explained to Harry that many of his skills came from his bond with Voldemort - and even when he definitely could speak parseltongue there were plenty of times he did it without knowing. Thanks again to everyone who is reading/following/commenting.**

**AN: Again - with the anonymous reviews - I cannot reply to them - and specifically to Random Reader - who again submitted an anonymous review - I addressed your concerns in the previous Author's note. Simply put, I disagree with your comments.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**_ Author's note:_ My readers are paying better attention than I am - and I am quite aware of the continuity problems within this chapter - hopefully those will be fixed before the end of the day...issues with Neville and events in the Great Hall...thanks for your comments - please don't give up on this story because of my error...  
**

**AN2: The continuity errors should be fixed...at this time...thanks for your patience  
**

* * *

Harry arrived at the Potter Manor with Daphne and Hermione in tow. Once they had arrived in London via international floo Harry used a port key to bring them all to his home. Hermione was amazed when she saw his home. She had no idea that Harry's family had such a magnificent place.

Daphne scoffed at her wonder, "The Potters are an Ancient and Most Noble House, of course they would have a glorious home." Hermione rolled her eyes at Daphne.

Harry shook his head in frustration, "You two better behave, I really don't want to hear you going at each other."

Daphne made a sad eye expression as a means of apology to her boyfriend. Suddenly there were several pops as Harry's house elves arrived to great them outside of the main entrance.

"Welcome back, Master Harry," said Mal with a deep bow. "We do hope that your travels have been safe and rewarding."

Daphne bent over and gave the elf a slight hug and spoke softly into his ear, "Master Harry will not admit it, but his travels were not as safe as they should have been, but they were quite rewarding."

Hermione's jaw dropped at the sight of the four house elves who had arrived. She glared at Harry, "You're not treating them as slaves, are you?" she snapped.

Before Harry could respond, Daphne had stood up and looked as if she was about to slap her. "Don't tell Harry how to take care of his home, and no, he does not treat them like slaves."

Hermione gaped at the tone which Daphne had used towards her. Harry then stepped in between the two of them and he tried to ease the tension. "I know how you feel about the treatment of house elves, Hermione. These elves have been working for the Potter family for many years, they are treated well and they are paid fairly. But you need to understand how house elves magic works. They are linked to their masters. Their very existence depends on being bonded with a witch or wizard and that bond sustains them. The more they do for individual or the family that they are bonded to, the healthier they are."

Hermione frowned, "Very well, I'll try to be more understanding," she said finding the situation distasteful nonetheless.

Harry turned to Mal and the other elves. "Could you prepare a room for Hermione and for Daphne please?"

With a pop three of the elves disappeared, and Mal turned to the witches. "I will bring your things into the manor, and then we will set you up in your rooms." He turned to Daphne, "Your room is already for you, Miss Daphne, it is good to see you again. And we all thank you for bringing back Master Harry safely."

Daphne smiled sweetly at the odd little creature who was being so formal. "Thank you, Mal," she said, and then she turned to Harry. "I really ought to let my parents know that I am back in England. And I am sure that Astoria and Draco would like to know we are back as well."

The trio entered the manor and Hermione was stunned by the size and beauty of the home. Trying to her best friend, she asked, "Is this where your father grew up? I thought he grew up in Godric's Hollow."

Harry looked around his home, glad to be back and then he turned to answer Hermione. "From what I have learned he grew up here, the cottage in Godric's Hollow was a family home that my mum and dad chose to live in when I was born."

Daphne noted that Harry seamed to slip into a bit of melancholy at this and quickly she stood by him and gave him a slight hug. She then turned to Hermione, "How about a tour," she suggested. She turned to Harry, "I've missed this place too."

Harry gave his girlfriend a quick kiss and then he looked at the two women who were waiting on him to begin the tour. "Why don't we take a few minutes to get settled, Mal can show Hermione to her room, and Daphne can either floo call or send an owl to her parents? I'll arrange for some refreshments for us and then we can have the grand tour."

An hour later they were all back in the sitting room after they had completed the tour. Daphne's parents had invited them all over for dinner, and they were looking forward to a relaxing evening. Daphne was anxious about the thought of going over to see her parents as she was sure they would all be grilled about the adventures they had in Australia and in the states. Especially as Daphne and Hermione had made the quick appearance the previous month when Harry was hurt and they needed to fetch Draco and the wand.

Soon they were all seated around the Greengrass' dining table, and enjoying a lively conversation. Isabella Greengrass was shocked to hear of the danger they had put themselves in with the griffon and then with the thunderbird. Harry tried to calm her down by explaining that the cloak made from the griffon hide was great protection, and that Daphne and Hermione were never in any real danger.

"You end up in a coma, and these young ladies have to come all the way back to England to fetch Draco and some mysterious wand just so you could be healed, and you think I am overreacting to this story," said Mrs. Greengrass, obviously irritated with the young wizard sitting next to her eldest daughter. "And then after they left, all of the uproar over the incident in Hogsmeade, and the threats made against Draco, these adventures really have to stop."

Harry was shocked at her words. Daphne was starting to blush. He looked at his girlfriend as he asked her, "Did you leave something out when you told me about what happened when you went to the get the Elder Wand?"

Hermione sheepishly spoke up, "That was my fault, Harry, I am the one who suggested we leave out the altercation with Ron."

Harry shook his head and then he turned to look at Draco. "Tell me about these threats. Were they from Ron?"

Draco was actually turning red as he was about to answer. "The Weasel was a bunch of hot air. It was nothing, really," he said dismissively.

Astoria quickly added, "The Aurors just took Weasley away after that. He was a stupid fool to attack the four of us all by himself."

Harry turned to Daphne, "And can you explain why you thought I didn't need to know about this?"

Hermione cut in, "I told her not to tell anyone about what happened. Don't get mad at Daphne."

Turning to Hermione, he asked slowly, "Does Ron know you took the wand?"

"He might have been figuring it out just before he really let go and started attacking," answered Hermione quietly.

Harry rolled his eyes.

Draco spoke up, "And this is a problem why?"

Harry sighed. "Maybe it will all amount to nothing. But I really think the wand should be put back."

Now Daphne stared at Harry. "Like that would be a good idea," she stated, the sarcasm obvious to everyone. "If anyone listened to Weasley spouting off at us or if he is railing against us or even you about the wand, everyone will know about it. Or at least it will start rumours."

"I don't envy you if word gets out about the Elder Wand," said Draco quietly.

"Well, I guess we'll have to keep it quiet, and hide it somewhere else," said Harry as he ruminated about all of the implications of people learning about the Elder Wand.

Hermione started muttering quietly as she was staring at her plate.

Daphne kicked her gently under the table. "Spill it Granger," she said, "what has your mind racing over there?"

"I'm just thinking through possibilities," Hermione commented thoughtfully. "First, Harry needs to decide whether he will keep the wand with him or put it somewhere safe, such as a vault in Gringotts. Or just snap the wand." There was a group groan at the idea of destroying such an incredible magical artefact. "Either way, someone might come after Harry if they think he actually has the wand or not."

"So how do we deal with that?" asked a worried Daphne.

"Spread more misinformation," said a slyly smiling Hermione. "Harry might just give an interview with someone like Rita Skeeter."

Isabella Greengrass couldn't stay quiet at that comment. "No, not that dreadful woman. Hasn't she done enough attacking of Harry over the years?"

"She always tries, but she was helpful in getting information out during our fifth year," added Hermione.

Jonathan interjected, "Those articles in the Quibbler that she wrote, detailing Harry's story about the return of the Dark Lord. I remember those well. She did take a different approach than she did the previous year."

"But why would she write an article about Harry now?" asked Astoria.

"Confirmation of the rumours that the Boy-Who-Lived is no longer on the eligible young wizard list," suggested Hermione.

Daphne shook her head as she blushed, "No, not that, I don't need that."

Astoria laughed at her sister, "Oh come on, it would be fun!"

"Not for me it won't," protested Daphne.

"I wasn't talking about you," laughed her sister.

The conversation drifted away from the Elder Wand and how to deal with it as everyone enjoyed the remainder of the meal together. Jonathan mentioned that Greengrass Imports was continuing to flourish with the help that Harry and his companies had given to him. He also bemoaned the loss of Daphne as a helper for the family business.

Picking up on her husband's frustration over the absence of their oldest daughter from helping with the family business, Isabella turned to Daphne. "So, now that you've had your adventures, are you going to be settling down for a little while?"

Daphne looked to Harry and avoided her mother's gaze. As she reached under the table she gently squeezed Harry's hand. Harry took the hint and turned to Lady Greengrass and answered for Daphne. "We will be preparing for another couple of journeys," he said simply. "But I think we need to prepare for the next couple of trips."

"Prepare?" asked Jonathan. "What do you mean by that? Plan out your travel destinations?" He clearly was not happy with the thought of his daughter continuing to traipse around the world with a young man like she had been doing.

"My responsibilities which I need to deal with are not yet complete, Lord Greengrass," Harry commented with a very formal tone. "As there are tasks which I still need to complete, I will need to have some more journeys. But before I embark on these journeys I will be preparing with additional study with the help of Hermione." Harry smiled at his best friend and noted the slight scowl that Daphne was giving him and then he quickly added, "And Daphne will be helping me as well."

Jonathan's jaw was stern as he thought about this statement, but he chose to remain quiet even though he was not happy to hear this news.

Isabella looked back and forth between her daughter and her boyfriend. She considered what she knew about this young man, how he had defeated the Dark Lord, how he has survived countless adventures, most recently including run-ins with a thunderbird and a griffon. She wasn't sure she really wanted to know anything more about his adventures, but she couldn't bear the thought of her daughter joining him on these dangerous excursions. She opened her mouth as she was about to say something, and then she decided not to, and just looked down and hid her face from her daughter, then she quickly used her napkin to wipe a stray tear from her cheek as she silently worried about what kind of trouble the young couple would be getting into next.

* * *

It was an early July evening as the five friends were relaxing in the sitting room at Potter Manor. Draco was sitting next to Astoria as Hermione was discussing with everyone about the current plans she had drawn up for the next stage.

"Right, we know that we all will be able to go search for the chimera together, as Draco is currently on break from the Auror training program. We still have to gather some supplies, and then we can head to Hogwarts tomorrow to talk to Hagrid and see if he could offer some help." She turned to Harry, "Are you sure that Merlin's writings don't have any more information on chimeras than your brief notes? We really could use some more to go on."

Harry shook his head, "Look, I searched for months, and I had to have the professors helping me translate the writings from Old English, and it didn't help that his hand writing made that of a muggle physician look like great penmanship."

"So, then what do you propose?" asked Hermione.

"We go to Hogwarts, and see what we can learn from Hagrid," he said simply. "Maybe he knows about chimeras."

"He probably thinks there as gentle as lambs, friendly as a puppy, and easily house broken," snorted Draco.

Astoria giggled at his comments, but Hermione cast Draco a nasty glare. Daphne did not miss the look and chided the other witch. "Relax, Hermione, he's just having fun."

Hermione spun on her seat to face Daphne, "It's not funny," she protested. "You should have seen the awful way he treated Hagrid during Care of Magical Creatures."

Daphne shook her head slightly. "I was in Slytherin, remember! I was there! Really Hermione, you're supposed to be the bright one."

"Granger," said Draco calmly, "you really need to relax a little, don't take everything so seriously."

Harry joined in the teasing, "Now, my godfather, he was the one to be taken seriously."

Hermione rolled her eyes and tossed a cushion at him, "Not funny Harry."

* * *

Early the next morning the two wizards and three witches apparated to Hogsmeade on their way to Hogwarts. Harry suggested that they take the back alleys through the village on their way to the Hogwarts gate so as to avoid going anywhere near the Weasleys' joke shop, just in case Ron was around. Entering the grounds of Hogwarts, they headed towards Hagrid's hut, avoiding going near Dumbledore's tomb along the way. Harry noted as they were approaching that there was no smoke coming from the chimney and as they got closer there was no barking of Fang to announce their arrival. Reluctantly, he went up to the door and knocked, and he was not surprised to receive no answer. As he turned towards the group who had accompanied him he quickly noted a look of relief on the face of Draco but a look of sadness on Hermione.

"Right, well, anyone have any more brilliant ideas," Harry said as a statement more than a question. He was obviously frustrated.

Hermione bit her lip as she thought about their options and then she offered, "Well, we could check with the headmistress. Professor McGonagall should know where he is, she might be able to find him for us."

Harry shook his head, "He's not here, there's no fire and Fang is gone." Then he added, "But I suppose you're right, McGonagall might know where we could find him."

Daphne frowned at the idea of seeing the headmistress. "No offence, you two, but even if she knows where Hagrid is, it's not going to help. He is clearly not here. We need to get more information about the chimera. I am not sure that Professor McGonagall would have that information."

"Maybe she would let us use the Hogwarts' library," suggested Hermione with a sudden gleam in her eye.

Astoria rolled her eyes and Draco audibly groaned at the bright young witch's excitement.

"It would be quite unlikely that the library here would have much useful information, Granger," chided Daphne, trying to convey her message a little more softly than it sounded. "While the references in the library here on magic, charms, and history may be quite extensive, the resources they have in regard to such creatures are sorely lacking. Particularly considering the decided slant towards Anglo-Saxon history of magic. Greek history is definitely lacking despite the numerous reference volumes that are found in the library here at Hogwarts."

Hermione became defensive as she took the comments as an attack on her school and her knowledge. Noting the building anger in Hermione's eyes, Daphne cut her off before she could say anything. "There were others besides the Ravenclaw students who actually spent more time in that library than you did. Some of us were not joining Harry on all of his crazy and reckless adventures every year." She paused and turned to face her boyfriend and gave him a smile to reassure him, then she turned back to Hermione. "I suppose that you did not really find much information about the three headed dog you encountered during your first year within those hallowed halls."

Hermione bit her lip as she thought about what the blonde witch was telling her. "Well, then just where do you think we can get this information?" snapped Hermione as she let her frustration out on Daphne.

"I thought you were the intelligent one here," stated Daphne with a little sarcasm dripping off her words. "Where would you look for information about such a creature?"

Hermione wasn't sure if the question was meant to be rhetorical or not. "Well, the Greeks are known for many ancient writings, for their philosophers and their plays and their mythology," she said as she thought this through aloud.

Astoria couldn't resist adding, "I don't think the writings of Plato or the Greek tragedies will help you out here." She laughed slightly at the idea of Hermione trying to research this problem in such writings.

Hermione tried to ignore the comments from the younger Greengrass. "It's not like there is any famous Greek library where I could find any of those documents anyway," she added defending herself.

Daphne laughed derisively. "I thought you had a better education as a muggle before coming to Hogwarts. Where did you learn your history? The Greeks controlled the Mediterranean before the rise of the Roman Empire. There was plenty of their culture preserved and they had some famous libraries as well."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know my history. The famous library of Alexandria, the most famous library in the world, which some say was founded by Aristotle or his students was destroyed by Julius Caesar."

Daphne snorted at her comment. "That's what muggle history has taught you? Didn't muggle history also teach that there is no such thing as magic or dragons or witches and wizards?"

There was an awkward silence as Hermione tried to form words and sentences but nothing came out of her mouth.

Draco sneered, "The brightest witch of our age, silenced at last, and by a Slytherin, no less."

There was a sudden uncomfortable silence among the group as four sets of eyes glared at Draco. He noted the intensity of the looks he was receiving, and it actually made him recoil slightly. As a slight blush came across his face, he muttered a quiet apology of sorts, "Sorry, Granger"

Hermione turned from glaring at Draco and was about to ask Daphne a question about the Library of Alexandria, when they heard some shouting coming towards them. The group looked and saw a tall thin man walking across the fields towards them and he did not seem pleased to see a group gathering by Hagrid's hut.

"Who do you think you are? What are you doing here anyway?" came the voices cries drifting across the space in between them.

Harry turned to Hermione who looked back at him. They simultaneously mouthed "Neville?"

Harry turned back to face the person who was quickly approaching with long strides. Behind him, Harry heard Draco say under his breath, "Is that Longbottom?" Harry chose to ignore Draco and he then waved his hand towards his friend and classmate. "Hey Nev!" he shouted back.

Neville Longbottom had changed from a brisk walk to a run when he thought he recognised a couple of the people in the group. He could scarcely believe that he was seeing Harry Potter of all people here at Hogwarts, but as he approached the gathering he thought to himself, who else would be trying to visit Hagrid during the summer.

Harry stepped forward to greet Neville with a handshake that quickly changed into a hug between the two former classmates. They patted each other on the back and Neville turned and looked at the bright young witch with not so bushy hair. "Hermione!" he exclaimed. "You've come back from Australia!"

Hermione smiled and gave him a big hug. "That I did," she said brightly.

Neville looked around at the group that was with his two good friends. "Daphne," he said with a nod to the blonde woman, "Astoria" he added with a nod to the younger Greengrass. He turned and looked at the young Malfoy. He had last encountered the former Slytherin at his own New Year's Eve party, and Draco had been pleasant, despite the rudeness of Ron Weasley who managed to show up and make an arse of himself. "It is good to see you, Draco."

Draco shook the offered hand and acknowledged the greeting with a quiet "And you too, Longbottom."

Harry was glad that Neville did not harbor any misgivings towards Draco in regard to the incident at his party involving Ron. Harry was about to say something, but before he could, Neville stepped back and put his hands gently on his hips. "So, you and Hermione are back," he said stating the obvious. "And now you're both associating yourselves with former Slytherins." Neville noted Hermione's raised eyebrow at his comment, then he quickly added, "It's all fine Hermione, I'm just teasing them. They all joined me for a party at New Years."

Everyone smiled as Neville's comments made them all feel more at ease. Looking at everyone in the group again, Neville began to smile even more broadly, "So, did you all just go over to Australia and hunt her down to drag her back here to England?"

"No, Daphne and I had an errand of sorts to take care of down under, and we just happened to run into the Australian Minister for the Department of Magical Creatures."

Neville looked puzzled. "But what does that have to do with Hermione?"

Draco hid his face in his hand so as not to laugh out loud.

Hermione blushed bright red as Daphne stepped up next to Harry, "Neville, that was Hermione's job in Australia."

Now Neville was redder than a Weasley after being pranked. Neville then felt a little awkward as he looked between the two women standing on either side of Harry.

"What is it Neville?" asked Hermione.

"It's just that I kind of thought that you and Harry would end up together, after everything you guys went through together in school and all, and then he ends up with Daphne, and then the two of them bring you back to England. This all seems so confusing." Neville shook his head and hoped that he hadn't offended anyone.

The group of friends started to laugh. Then Neville interrupted their mirth as he asked, "But really, what does bring you all to Hogwarts? What brings you all together? No offence to any of you, but Harry and Hermione hanging out with you three, that is definitely unexpected."

"We're working together on a project," said Hermione simply.

Neville raised an eyebrow at her comments.

"Right, and I'm the emperor of China," he said with a straight face. "You're all done with school, what kind of project would you be working on?"

"They're helping me with some chores I need to finish," said Harry.

Neville eyed his good friend. "Chores? Projects?" Neville shook his head. "I know you too well, don't make up any more wild excuses. I'm not still some scared young boy you put into a body bind curse when you went to stop Quirrel."

Draco gave them all a puzzled look, but Harry smiled genuinely at his friend. "Perhaps a better explanation is that I have a few outstanding projects I need to complete," said Harry.

"What, is Miss Greengrass here going to put you in detention or something?" Neville asked with a grin. Then his face became more serious, "Really, Harry, I'd like to know what's going on. You show up here with some new friends and the last time I heard Hermione's name around here it had something to do with hexing Ron and then her running off with Daphne and Draco and her sister. Don't leave me in the dark when there is a good story to be heard." He gave his friend a pointed look and it was clear he intended to get the explanation he wanted.

Harry resigned himself to telling his story to his mate. "Let's talk over lunch, and perhaps we can have a little chat with the headmistress, unless of course you know where Hagrid is and how I could get in touch with him."

Neville glanced over at the empty hut. "Hagrid has been gone all summer. Off on some trip with Olympe, they were going to go exploring in the Himalayas or some other place. Not sure why, I never understood why he was heading there. He's supposed to be back before the next term starts."

Harry looked at Daphne at this news and the two shared a frustrated smile. Shortly after this they were all seated down for lunch in the Great Hall with Minerva McGonagall. Professor Flitwick joined the group of young friends. They all enjoyed catching up on what everyone had been up to. The headmistress was relieved to hear and see that Harry had come through fine after the ordeal with the thunderbird. Neville just shook his head in disbelief as he heard the details of one more Harry Potter adventure. The Hogwarts teachers, including Neville, were all interested in hearing why Harry needed to speak with Hagrid. Harry also made it clear that they still had more work to do to complete his 'project.'

"Why must you always be looking to get into mischief, Mr. Potter? For the life of me, I do not understand why you can't just settle down and do things the easy way." The headmistress turned to Daphne, "Miss Greengrass, you were always so level headed in school, I would hope that you would be the one that could finally talk some sense into this young man. I gave up hope on Miss Granger being able to do that years ago. My heavens, I thought you had more than enough adventures already Mr. Potter." She let out a sigh as she looked at one of her favourite students and she was sure that her concerns would go unheeded.

Harry smiled back at his former head of house, "I usually didn't go looking for trouble back when I was a student."

Draco interrupted with a not too quiet, "Yeah, right, Potter, tell us all another one."

Astoria and Daphne both shot glares at Draco for his comment, and Hermione was about to speak up to defend Harry, but she was cut off by McGonagall, "Now , I will not tolerate any such insolence on your part whatsoever."

A subdued Draco bowed his head slightly as he muttered, "Understood professor."

Both Flitwick and McGonagall raised eyebrows at the response which was not at all expected based on his behaviour when he was a student. Astoria noted the looks and then tried to explain, "He really is working on being on is best behaviour, at least when he is around me." She gave her betrothed a slight wink which softened his mood slightly.

A brief shiver ran through the headmistress as she imagined the possibility of Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy marrying into the same family. Considering the outright antagonism they both showed for each other over their school years, this civility with which they were treating each other was beyond understanding. "Young people these days," she thought to herself. "Hopefully my friends and I were not really so fickle about friends as this when we were younger."

The headmistress spoke up again, "Now, our new assistant herbology professor, Mr. Longbottom, tells me that you have been inquiring about Hagrid."

Harry nodded in response, "I was actually hoping that he might be able to help us with my next project as it were."

"And it has nothing whatsoever to do with those damnable blast ended skrewts," added Daphne quietly. Her former classmates laughed at her comment.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Harry's comment, "What sort of help?"

Harry avoided her stern gaze as he answered softly, "With finding and catching a chimera."

The diminutive charms professor choked on a sip of water. "Excuse me, Mr. Potter, but I didn't hear you correctly. For a moment there I thought you said you needed help with finding a chimera. What did you actually say?"

The five guests at the Hogwarts lunch table were silent. Neville's eyes grew big. "No, you wouldn't be doing something like that. Not another one of _your_ adventures! By Merlin's beard Harry, that is just crazy."

The professors were nearly glaring at Harry in anticipation for his response to Neville's outburst.

Looking directly at Professor Flitwick, Harry said, "I did say chimera." He waited for his words to sink in again. "I need to get some chimera venom," he said simply as he turned to face his friend Neville, "and now that you mention it, it _is_ by Merlin's recommendation that I need to do this."

McGonagall dropped her fork. The clatter caused all eyes at the table to focus on her. "What do you mean by that? By Merlin's recommendation…you can't possibly have been talking to Merlin."

His four friends stared at Harry, surprised that he had made a comment referring to the library where he had been reading Merlin's writings. Harry noted that everyone was waiting on his answer, so he began to explain. "No, of course I haven't been speaking to Merlin, that would be just silly to claim such a thing." He paused briefly and then he continued, "I've just been reading some of his writings."

There was a crash as Flitwick fell off of his chair. Everyone's attention turned to the half goblin professor as he climbed back up to the table. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he said as he refused any help in the matter.

McGonagall gave Harry a look that made it clear he was expected to elaborate further on this matter. "It turns out that most of Merlin's writings are preserved in a secret location within a muggle university," Harry said by way of answering the headmistress' silent request. "And no, there is no way that those works can be removed from where they are and the professors who know about them will not let just anyone in to the hidden library." He noted that he had everyone's rapt attention and he anticipated a few questions, so he continued with his explanation. "The only ones who have been into this secret room are two professors and myself, and I do not think that it would be advisable to have anyone else heading over there to just have a look." Harry noted Hermione's frown. "I already explained that there is nothing further about chimera's in his writings."

"But we do need to learn more about them before you go traipsing off who knows where to find one," she complained.

"Well, you could always try the Library of Alexandria for more information," added Professor McGonagall, "if that is what you need."

Daphne smirked as she looked at Hermione, "See, I told you."

Hermione gave the blonde a slight smile and then turned back to the headmistress, "But how could I get there? How do I get in?"

The Scottish woman was surprised by Hermione's questions. "Why, I am sure that Madame Pince would be delighted to make a referral for you to gain admission."

Hermione's eyes sparkled with excitement at hearing that.

Neville spoke to Harry, "So, I guess you'll be off to Greece to find this chimera then. Do you have a place to stay?"

Harry smiled as he had not shared this with his traveling companions yet. "Well, we do have a place for a base of operations, as it were. The Potter family has a villa on a small Greek island. I think we can travel there, start our search for a chimera. Maybe we can do that while Hermione is researching more information about the creature over in Alexandria." Harry was pleased with the excited look in his friends' eyes, but internally he regretted that they would not have Hagrid along to help with actually subduing the beast.

* * *

**AN: another short chapter, but I wanted to get it up….as it has been over a week….**

**another AN: I am going back and fixing grammar and spelling mistakes in the previous chapters. One of my teenagers is reading the story and finding many of my mistakes - he is finding it way too humorous an endeavour...  
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**and yet another AN: as far as the question about the lake in New Hampshire, the comment was made based on a "fact" I learned working in New Hampshire one summer - however, I can NOT find any proof to back up the claim - be that as it may - I am sure there are still people claiming the information about the unnamed lake - so yes the lake exists - but no, it may not be an accurate fact...(this author has lived in New England and Pennsylvania and Texas, in case you care)  
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**Yet another note from the author: In an effort to avoid the hassles of having to rewrite major parts of a chapter due to my own errors I will not be getting chapters published as quickly as when this story started. I still have the basic and detailed outline for the story, but there will be more review before posting. The criticisms I have received either in Reviews or in PMs are fair, and I am not upset with them. I prefer to read stories without spelling and grammatical errors and I expect that the author can keep their own plot line consistent. A better story and more enjoyable read will be had if I work on this more attentively. However, writing fanfic pays me nothing, and the realities of life affect us all. So be patient, and hopefully you will be rewarded with a better work from me as we go forward. (8-13-2012)  
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	13. Chapter 13

After the friends finished their meal, Minerva McGonagall offered to bring Hermione to speak with Madam Pince at the library. Madam Pince, who often came across as a severe and ill tempered witch to many of the students at Hogwarts, was delighted to see Hermione again, who was one of her favourite students over the years. The headmistress explained that Hermione, who had recently been the Minister of Magical Creatures in Australia, was needing to do some extensive research on magical creatures beyond what even the hallowed halls of Hogwarts would be able to aid her with, and thus she asked the austere librarian if there was anyplace that Madam Pince could think of that would offer Hermione the resources that she might require.

Madam Pince thought for a moment and gave Hermione a piercing glare.

"You need to do further research?" she asked sharply of the young witch in front of her.

Hermione nodded yes.

"And you are certain that we don't have the information that you will need here in our library?" asked the librarian again.

Hermione was slightly intimidated by the questioning, but managed to squeak out a response, "Well, no, the information I need is something which I have not found in the references here."

Madam Pince gave a warm smile, which was slightly unsettling to behold behind her severe features. "Very well, Miss Granger, perhaps if any other student might try to make such a claim I would be sure they were pulling my leg, but I recall your many hours here when you were a student that you spent devouring all the information you could find." The odd smile faded from her face as she turned back to Minerva. "Well, there is probably only one place with a more extensive reference section than what we have here. I will send an owl to my colleagues to see about procuring admission for our Miss Granger."

Hermione tried not to overreact as Madam Pince had not stated what institution she was referring to, but she was sure it must be the Library of Alexandria. Hermione raised an eyebrow as the librarian turned to look at her, as if asking a silent question as to what institution she was referring. The librarian noted the look from the young witch and sagely replied, "Have you never heard of the Library of Alexandria? Or did your education as a muggle born actually teach you that Caesar destroyed the library thousands of years ago?"

Hermione tried to act surprised. "The Library of Alexandria? You would do that for me?"

"Of course, my dear," smiled Madam Pince. "Now, you just be patient and I will see what I can do."

The headmistress smiled at Hermione and then thanked the Madam Pince for her assistance. "We look forward to hearing more from you, Irma, and thank you so much for your kind assistance."

* * *

Harry and his other friends were waiting by the entrance to the Great Hall while the headmistress escorted Hermione to the library.

Neville timidly asked if everyone would like a tour of the greenhouses.

"Must we, Longbottom?" asked an irritated Draco.

Astoria elbowed him in the gut for his rudeness. Verbally defending himself, Draco protested, "What? I was just being honest with the young Lord. I had more than my fill in those buildings as a student, between replanting mandrake roots and dealing with bubotubers I am sure I would be just fine if I never stepped into those dreaded buildings ever again."

Neville laughed at Draco's comments. "I could always bring Draco by the man-eating plants, if that would be a help, Astoria."

Draco looked at Neville trying to determine if he was joking or serious as the Greengrass sisters were laughing at him. Neville helpfully added, "Yes, Draco, we do have some man eating plants in one of the greenhouses. I'd be happy to show you to them at any time, or should I say that I could show them to you." Neville grinned and Draco stiffened at that comment.

Harry laughed at Draco's expense, "It's only fair, Draco, after all the times you picked on Neville and teased him when we were in school. It's the quiet ones who will ultimately get their revenge some way or another. Personally, I'd watch your back around Neville from now on."

Neville paled at Harry's statement.

Draco looked from Harry to Neville and back. Finally Daphne spoke up, "Draco, I am sure that Professor Longbottom would keep both students and graduates safe from any dangerous plants within the greenhouses at all times." Then turning to Neville she pointedly added, "Won't you, Neville?"

Neville smiled politely, "Whatever you say Daphne."

Harry laughed at the interaction, and then offered, "Perhaps we should pass on the tour, Neville, as I am not sure that Draco is up for it at this time." After a slight silence among the group, Harry then added, "So, Nev, are you busy getting ready for the coming school year?"

"Well, actually, Professor Sprout has everything in hand," he said with a sigh. He then added with a grin directed at Draco, "I've just been tending to some of the more dangerous plants, but they're all doing well, even if the Fanged Geraniums are feeling underfed."

"Would you like to come to Greece with us this summer and hunt a chimera?" asked Harry.

Neville's eyes lit up as he answered, "Would I like to? I'd love to," he added and then hesitated before saying, "but it won't be as dangerous as running off to the Ministry of Magic like we did at the end of our fifth year, will it?"

"Neville, we're going to be tracking a chimera," answered Daphne for Harry, "how safe do you think that will be?"

Neville smiled back at Harry's girlfriend, "That's not the part that worries me. Being attacked by Death Eaters, that is something that I can do without."

"Then my good friend," said Harry with a large grin, "you should have nothing to worry about at all!"

Draco laughed at the group and shook his head. "You know Potter, you and your friends sure have an odd idea of what is safe, what is dangerous and what is fun."

* * *

Harry walked into the sitting room at his manor. Four of his friends were sitting around the small table. Daphne jumped up and ran across the room to greet him.

"Just where have you been, mister?" demanded Daphne. "You said we would all be getting together for brunch."

"That I did," answered Harry as he nodded a greeting to Draco, Astoria and Neville. "I just had a quick errand to take care of this morning. Where's Hermione?"

"She has already left for Egypt," said Neville. "Apparently Madam Pince arranged for her to get admission to the Library of Alexandria, and they said she had to arrive this morning. Didn't leave her much time to get her stuff together. She left a message for you, it's on the mantle."

Harry seemed surprised and a little hurt over this development. Daphne gave him a quick hug, "You should have been here, not off running out on some errand that you thought was so important."

Draco stood up and walked over to Harry. "So, do tell us what was so important that you had to leave your manor so early this morning?"

"I had a meeting with the goblins over at the bank," Harry said flatly. "They kind of wanted an update on what was happening with my tasks that I have to complete for them."

Daphne gave him a look that indicated she was sure that there was something he was leaving out. Neville looked between his best mate and his girlfriend and he could tell something was up. "Come on Harry," he said, "there must be something more to this."

A goofy grin came across his face. "Well, they did let me know that I can use the Potter family's villa on one of the islands near Greece."

There was the sudden shrieks of excitement from two young witches which was then accompanied by Harry being kissed and hugged by Daphne. Astoria had jumped up and stood next to Draco.

"Does this mean we all get to go and stay there?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course we do," said Harry. This earned him another hug and kiss from Daphne.

Neville stood up and walked over to Harry. Clapping his mate on the back he commented "You know, it is times like this that it is really good to be friends with you, Harry."

Harry gave a wry smile as he responded, "It's times like this that it is really good to be Harry!"

Draco coughed once and everyone stared at him. "If we can call an adjournment to the I Love Harry Fan-club, maybe we can get on with our planned brunch. And then after that, maybe Harry can fill us in on when we'll be heading to Greece."

Harry smiled. "Well, I am sure we're all ready to enjoy the brunch that the elves have prepared. And I do believe that the goblins have arranged for the house elves to head over there today to set things up for us, which gives us the rest of the day to prepare before we leave, tomorrow morning."

* * *

Early the next day the five friends met again at Potter Manor. Harry's house elves were finishing the preparations for bringing over everyone's trunks that they had packed for their trip. Mal had explained to Harry that there were still a couple of house elves overseeing the manor, so that preparations were not hard to complete. The head elf was named Nicho, and there was also a matronly house elf who had been around for many generations. Everyone there called her Yaya.

Harry held out an old green apron that the goblins had prepared for him. Astoria was taken aback by the ragged looking cloth. "What is that?" she wondered out loud.

"This?" asked Harry, "this is green."

Harry looked at the blank faces staring at him, then with a smile he continued, "This is a port key. I obtained it from the goblins when I was at the bank. We'll be at the villa in just a moment. Everyone grab ahold."

"Just a minute," said Neville.

Everyone looked up at Neville who was starting to blush.

"What's the matter Nev?" asked Daphne, as she had started to use the nickname that Harry often used for his best mate.

"Well, we're about to head off to a beautiful villa in the mediterranean, and I kind of feel like the odd man out," he said with a slight frown.

Harry put down the apron, and shrugged. "Sorry Nev, I don't mean to put you on the spot here, or make you uncomfortable, but I still have more to accomplish for the goblins." Harry shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he waited for Neville to reply.

"Well, Neville," said Daphne, "I really don't want to make you uncomfortable, but what would you have us do? We can promise not to snog in front of you."

Neville looked at Harry and then spoke up again. "Well, I was hoping, that if it was alright with everyone, particularly you, Harry, if I could ask Hannah to join us?"

Harry looked at Daphne and then back at Neville. Then he gave a big grin. "Of course it would be fine. But we were just about ready to leave."

Before he could say anything more Neville responded with a big smile of his own. "Just a minute, I thought you would probably say that," Neville then turned and threw some floo powder into the fireplace and stuck his head into the flames. He called out to Hannah Abbott and he stepped back. A moment later Hannah arrived with her trunk in tow.

Hannah gave the group a big smile, "Neville assured me that you all would be fine with me joining you for this little adventure."

Harry laughed as he replied, "Of course we are, and we're glad to have you join us. However, did Neville tell you anything about jet why we are heading to an island off of Greece?"

Hannah put a finger up to the side of her head and teasingly answered, "Let me see, something about a griffon, no you already got one of those, something about a thunderbird, no you already tried to kill yourself with that one. How about a chimera, whatever that is, apparently you may need one to find one of those."

Harry smiled, "Well, you have been forewarned. So, now, everyone, let's grab the apron. No more excuses, and we'll be off."

"What's the activation code?" asked Astoria.

Harry grinned as he said, "Opa!"

They all felt the familiar tug from behind their navels.

* * *

The group of six friends found themselves in a courtyard. After Harry pulled himself off of the stone walkway where he found himself lying face first, they all began to look at their surroundings. He brushed the dust off of his pants and wondered how everyone else landed on their feet. Looking around he noted that the villa was a whitewashed building that surrounded the courtyard where they had just arrived. They all commented on the various statues around the courtyard as well as the obviously well-tended gardens. Harry then noted that there were several doors that led out of the courtyard and they all began to wonder which way they were supposed to go.

There was a quiet pop as two house elves appeared next to Harry.

"Hello, Master Harry and esteemed guests," said the one on the right. "I am Nicho and this is Yaya, she has been overseeing the meals here at the villa for the past several generations of Potters. It has been much too long since your family has been here." Nicho and Yaya gave a deep bow to Harry and his friends.

"We appreciate the help that Tam and Hoban have given us, but it was not necessary," added Nicho.

Yaya then looked at the group and turned to face Harry. "You are much too skinny, I will prepare lunch for you, no? It is Wednesday, so, you will have no meat, yes?" Before Harry could answer, Yaya had disappeared.

Harry gave Nicho a puzzled look.

Nicho seemed to sigh slightly, and then tried to explain. "Yaya has been everyone's, how you say, grandmother for years. Her family grew up here in Greece. They all follow the traditions of the church. Wednesday and Friday, they are always fast days, no meat. But we have at least persuaded her not to have everyone on a strict fast."

Daphne wondered what this meant and was about to ask. Nicho had noted her confusion and then went on to explain, "A strict fast would mean no dairy, no wine, no fish. But here we will be served those things. Just no meat today, but do not worry, she will still feed you well. Quite well," he added with a big smile.

"Now, we must get you settled, and then we'll have a tour of the villa," added the elf. "And then after lunch, we can give you a tour of the village. I can bring you all there, but there is a connection from here at the villa via the floo network to the shopping district."

Nicho began the tour, taking them to the north end of the courtyard which was the main part of the villa. The spacious living room and dining room were located there on either side of the entryway. Following a hallway past the living room was a library, which was magically linked to the one at Potter Manor. Writing the title of a book that one wanted to read in the ledger in the middle of the room would summon the book if it was present in one of the other Potter libraries. Nicho explained that a book summoned in such a way could not physically be removed from the library which was why there were various chairs and tables around the library to allow for a place to study or a place to read comfortably. He went on to explain that the books which were physically located within the library could be brought anywhere within the villa, but there were wards in place to prevent them from leaving the property. The Potters were not willing to lose any of their volumes to guests or carelessness.

Nicho continued the tour to the south side of the villa. The master bedroom and guest rooms were located on this end with rooms that either face the courtyard or looked out over the sea. The view was spectacular when they looked out over the cliffs and down into the blue water below. Neville noted as they enjoyed the view that he did not see any other buildings nearby. Nicho replied that the Potter's owned the entire island. In addition to the villa, there was a small house near their private beach, there was a dock near the beach where they had a boat and then there was the chapel near the villa. He went on to explain that there were several walking trails which they could use to explore the island.

Harry asked more questions about the villa and they learned that it was well protected with wards that were now controlled by Harry. The port key which Harry had been given was keyed to adjust the wars to allow those who were traveling with him to be able to enter. Nicho brought Harry back to the library and showed him the ward book where he could add names of those who would be allowed to come onto the island. Nicho quickly pointed out that anyone who tried to arrive via apparating to the villa, or anywhere else on the island for that matter, better know how to swim.

After they all were settled into their own rooms, Nicho called for them to meet in the dining room. After they had all sat down at the table, Yaya came out and announced the meal. They would be having spanikopita, a spinach and feta 'pie' which was encased between layers of filo dough. They started their lunch with a salad, and they had a delightful white wine to accompany the meal. The group of friends were all impressed by the food. As they were finishing what was on their plates, Yaya, had more food appear. "You are all too skinny," she admonished.

"The food is wonderful, Yaya," replied Harry, "we just cannot eat any more."

As the plates were cleared magically a platter appeared on the middle of the table. The friends noted that there were a number of pastries that looked more like large pieces of shredded wheat. Nicho was standing to the side and noted the confusion of the young people at the table. "Kataifi," he began to explain. "It is a dessert, not unlike baclava as it is filled with honey and nuts. Those who have had some report that they find it better than baclava, if you are familiar with that sweet pastry."

The six friends were soon enjoying the Greek pastries as they finished their meal. Nicho then spoke to Harry as the table was magically cleared. "Would you all like to visit the village?" he asked.

The group enthusiastically agreed that they would, and Nicho showed them to the fireplace from where they would be able to floo over to the shopping district. However, the house elf then told them to hold hands as he grasped Harry's hand. With a slight pop they apparated to the mainland. The group appeared in the centre of the village next to a large fountain. Everyone noted that somehow Harry managed to land on his feet. Nicho pointed out that to return, they could use the public floo located either at the bank or the town office. Nicho explained that the village here was a magical one and had many shops. Nicho accompanied them as they began to explore and he translated for the young people when they went into shops where the owners did not speak English. They spent hours enjoying their time walking up and down the streets and inspecting the various shops. Nicho pointed out where the local branch of Gringotts was located in addition to various stores, including ones for wands or for magical supplies or for robes and clothes. After several hours the group returned to the villa.

Yaya had prepared another meal for them and they sat down to enjoy a meal that began with dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and then they were served a baked white fish with rice and green beans. Again, the amount of food was nearly overwhelming for them. As they table was cleared, Yaya came out and announced that they would be having galactoburoca for dessert.

"What is that galacta-something?" asked a curious Neville.

"Have you people never had real food?" answered Yaya shaking her head. "No wonder you all look so skinny!"

Nicho entered the room and tried to explain. "It is a delightful creation, a custard dessert over a layer of filo dough and everything is covered with a sweet lemon or orange glaze. It is quite popular. And very tasty."

The group were looking forward to trying a new dessert. As they soon were all enjoying the spectacular creation, Neville spoke up. "This is simply amazing," he stated.

Everyone agreed with his assessment. As they were finishing their meals, Harry announced that they would need to begin working on finding a chimera. They then went out to sit on the veranda that overlooked the sea. As the sun set behind them, they noted the fireflies that started to occasionally light up the areas around the trees on the hill sides that sloped down towards the shore.

"Well, Potter," said Draco, "I must admit, your family really does know how to impress. The villa is one of the most pleasant and relaxing places I have ever been."

Everyone agreed with Draco's sentiments, and the conversation shifted to discussing the goals they had ahead of them for Harry to complete his task.

Harry commented that Hermione would be gathering as much information for them as possible while she was working at the Library of Alexandria. In the mean time, they would need to work on discovering where to search for a chimera and also work on strategies for capturing the chimera and obtaining the venom.

* * *

The next day the group met after enjoying a simple breakfast of fresh fruits and juices. They gathered out on the veranda again. Neville and Hannah had offered to research ways to work on subduing the chimera. Draco and Astoria agreed to work on trying to research where they could find a chimera, while Harry and Daphne would work on figuring out how to obtain the venom.

The next week was spent with time studying and researching as well as more exploring of the island and the nearby village. Yaya continued to make them various Greek styled meals, including moussaka and pastichio. None of the six friends particularly cared for ouzo which was served with one of the meals, so they kindly asked Nicho if they could stick to wine or juices.

On the fifth day of their research, a large owl arrived with a small package. Hermione had written them what she considered to be a short note that was attached to pages and pages of research. She had narrowed down some of the places they should search for finding a chimera. She recounted the various stories she was able to uncover which told of various encounters with the legendary beast. The first written account of a chimera was the tale of Bellerophon defeating one from the back of Pegasus. While most muggles believed that this story was merely an ancient myth, there were further documents within the Library of Alexandria that confirmed the tale of the battle. Apparently he fought the creature near Lycia, which was located in what is present day Turkey, but he used a lead arrow which melted inside the chimera and caused it to die. There were other stories that indicated that there may be one or more hiding somewhere in the mountains within Turkey, The most recent report of an encounter with a chimera came from the writings of Elphias Doge, who described his encounter with one somewhere in Greece.

Harry shared the letter with everyone as they sat out on the Veranda. He looked around the group of friends and simply asked, "So, does anyone have any thoughts? Anyone make some progress on their own projects?"

Astoria spoke up first. "Does anyone know this Doge person? I think I might have heard of him somewhere."

Harry responded to her comments. "I met Elphias Doge at Bill Weasley's wedding. He was friends with Dumbledore. He travelled quite a bit when he was younger, and many of his travels were with our former headmaster. It might be a good idea if I wrote to him, and asked him for some more specific information about the location of the chimera."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Harry's observation.

Neville spoke up next, "Well, obviously using the tactics which helped Bellerophon to slay the chimera he faced won't be of much use to us as we need a live one. And we will need to find a way to deal with the fire. So, I was reviewing some plants I have read about before…"

Draco interrupted him, "Tell us something we don't know, Longbottom, of course you were reading about plants."

Astoria punched him lightly in the arm as she quietly admonished him, "Cut it out Draco. Be nice."

Neville continued after smirking at Draco. "Well, as I was saying, I was reading about this plant, the dracaena reflex, it is tropical and it has natural resistance to fire. I discovered in my studies that there is a magical component to the fire resistance. Well, Hannah here, is much better in arithmancy and runes than I ever could be, she spent some time comparing what we learned about the dracaena to what we know about some spells."

Hannah picked up from Neville's comments, "And I think that I can work on adjusting some of the basics of the body bind spell and we may be able to incorporate the fire resistance properties to the magical ropes that are used to bind the target."

Daphne's eyes lit up. "Do you need some help on that?" she asked quickly. "I was pretty good in those subjects, and we all know Harry avoided those, so he probably won't be of much use to us with that part of the project."

"Sure," replied Hannah, "I'd love the help."

Draco spoke up, "Not to throw water on your little celebration, ladies, but just how do you expect to get close enough to cast the body bind spell and not get burned in the mean time?"

Hannah and Daphne both frowned at the comment. Astoria glared at Draco, "Not helpful there."

Harry rubbed his chin briefly and then responded to all the comments that had been made. "Actually, Astoria, Draco does raise a very valid point. We will need some way to distract the beast while four of us use the modified body bind to hold the creature's legs. And then we still need to distract it while I somehow get the venom from the snake."

Draco considered their dilemma for a moment and then he added, "Brooms, we could fly around on brooms."

"What do you mean by 'we'?" asked Neville.

"Well, Harry and I do have the most experience with brooms," answered Draco thoughtfully, "and he is the one who should be obtaining the venom, for after all, this is _his_ problem in the grand scheme of things, _not_ ours."

Daphne looked at Draco as her jaw dropped. "So, you would leave three women and Neville to hold down the chimera while you fly around safely out of reach of the dangerous beast?"

Harry placed a hand on Daphne's shoulder to try and calm her down. "Well, if we are flying around on brooms, that would cause the chimera to pay more attention to us, particularly if it felt we were more of a threat."

Draco continued, "And besides, if you three fine ladies are not up for the challenge, then we'll have to come up with a different plan."

Hannah decided to change the subject. "Did Hermione mention anything else in her note?"

Harry skimmed the note and looked at the stack of information she had sent. "She does mention she hopes that we can get the chance to explore the ancient ruins around Athens, she thinks it would be a wonderfully educational experience for all of us."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Granger would say that."

"However," Harry added, "she does go on to mention that might be difficult as the Greek authorities haven't allowed people to do that since some time in the 1970s. She sent along a copy of something called the National Geographic School Bulletin from sometime in 1973 that shows three American sisters playing around the ruins. Let's see, oh Hermione mentions that she found this article and thought it might be interesting. No idea who the three girls are or why they were at the Parthenon though." Harry then handed the small pamphlet for the others to look at.

Astoria looked over the pictures, "They sure dressed funny back then."

Hannah looked over the pictures as well. "You can say that again."

"Well, they were muggles," added Daphne as she looked at the pictures.

"And Americans, too," added Draco derisively.

Everyone stared at Draco after he made his comment.

"What? Have any of you ever met a nice American?" he asked.

Daphne glared at Draco. "Have you ever met any American?" she asked.

"Well, no, but everyone knows they're obnoxious," Draco responded.

"And everyone knows Death Eaters are idiots, but we still let you hang out with us," Daphne quipped back.

"That's enough," said Harry, putting an end to the bickering. "Back to the business at hand. I think that Draco had a valid point."

"What, that the American girls dress funny?" asked Neville.

"No, that we should consider flying on brooms," said an exasperated Harry. "If Draco and I fly in and cast spells to distract the beast, then you four could come and cast the modified body bind spells and immobilise its legs. Draco can work on distracting the goat head that breathes fire…"

Hannah interrupted Harry, "How do we know that? I thought the lion's head breathed the fire."

"According to the notes that Hermione sent along, the goat is the one that breathes fire," explained Harry. "Either way, it ought to become pretty clear which head breathes fire fairly soon after we approach the beast."

"But how will you get the venom?" asked Hannah.

"First, I will have some protection from wearing the griffon hide," answered Harry. "Second, the thunderbird feather which is hanging around my neck will help me move faster and help protect me from the flames. Third, Daphne and I discovered I can still speak in Parseltongue when we encountered a snake crawling across the path on the way down to the beach the other day, so I may be able to ask the chimera to give me some of its venom."

"Now that sounds like a brilliant idea," said Draco shaking his head. "No wonder you kept nearly getting yourself killed back in school, always running off on some hair brained scheme or another."

Harry laughed, "And here I thought I kept nearly getting killed because some deranged dark lord was after me my whole life. And all along it was just my own foolishness."

Daphne intervened, "Both of you behave," she commanded.

Harry protested, "We were just having fun with each other."

Draco nodded his head in agreement.

Daphne accepted the explanations from the two young men who had been behaving like juveniles, and then she turned to her sister. "So, do you and Draco have anything to add to our research? Any leads on where to find the chimera?"

"Only the information that Hermione just shared with us," said a now sullen Astoria, feeling embarrassed that she had nothing substantial to contribute.

Harry smiled at the younger Greengrass sister. "Well, maybe you can work with Daphne on figuring out how best to obtain the venom, once we have the chimera subdued. I'll get a letter mailed off to Elphias Doge, and we'll go from there. Neville can work with Draco on a strategy for approaching the chimera, and I'm sure that Hermione will have more to offer us soon. I probably ought to write her back, thank her for the information she sent and let her know where we are with the progress on all of this."

* * *

**AN: the chapter is shorter than I had intended, but it has been over a week since I posted. I have tried to be more careful with the editing this time, but I am sure that some of you trusty and faithful readers will find errors — my apologies now. The next chapter WILL have the chimera…I promise…**


	14. Chapter 14

Elphias Doge had been impressed with Harry Potter when he met him at the wedding on that fateful day that the ministry fell to the Death Eaters. It had been exciting for him to be able to claim that he had spent time chatting with the Boy-Who-Lived. And the boy, or young man, must have been impressed enough to remember their conversations. Elphias considered the letter he held in his hands and he reread the request for perhaps the twentieth time. He knew that many people did not believe some of the tales he wrote about, but obviously this young man, this saviour of the magical world, did believe him. He did not delude himself into believing everything he wrote about his adventures, of course he embellished his stories, even if it was only a little. However, it was nothing like that impostor Lockhart had done when he took other people's adventures, wrote up improbable stories claiming that he had actually performed ridiculous feats and then obliviated the poor sods who had told the man about their true stories. No, Elphias Doge had actually encountered a real live fire breathing chimera. He ran for his life and apparated away as quickly as he could, as opposed to his claim of having bravely faced it in a duel that lasted fifteen minutes before he admitted to himself that the beast was just too noble to actually kill, so he decided to spare the creature and then left it wounded, but only slightly. No, the tale in his book on his travels was a lie, but he had truly encountered a chimera. Elphias was no one's fool. No one wanted to read how he panicked and ran away screaming like a school girl. In retrospect, he realised that the screaming only made things worse as the chimera was able to follow the sound of his screams and easily followed him despite the darkness spell he had cast before making his hasty retreat. However, he was lucky to have escaped with his life. And he had no desire to tell anyone exactly where this had taken place, lest they find something that might reveal the truth of the encounter. But this was Harry Potter, the one who defeated Voldemort, saved the world and then seemed to try and disappear into obscurity. Harry was someone he felt he could trust. Elphias Doge started to write a reply to Mr. Potter, as he tried to remember just where the island near Greece was where he came face to face with the chimera.

* * *

Hannah and Daphne had been working hard on how to adjust the body bind spell so that the magical ropes would be impervious to fire, or at least fire resistant. So far, they had not met with any success.

Astoria had been spending the morning reading about snakes and snake venom. She wondered where Hermione Granger had found such a book on how to deal with snakes and snake venom. She was working in that magical library in Egypt, but this must have been some sort of muggle book, as the pictures within it did not move at all. The book had an introduction written by someone from Australia. But why someone who hunted crocodiles would write about dealing with poisonous snakes was beyond her. Muggles were strange people was all she could conclude. However, the book did prove to be useful. He described how muggles would capture a poisonous snake and have it bite a jar with a rubber top so that the venom would be released into the jar. She thought it was dangerous, particularly when those people had no magic to protect them, but somehow this might prove to be useful for Harry.

She left the library where she had been reading the book and found Hannah and Daphne working on the spell in the courtyard. They had managed to cause a statue to explode and one of the gardens to catch on fire. Nicho, the house elf for the villa, had been trying to repair the damage the ladies were causing as quickly as it occurred. When the two witches stopped various incantations to speak with the other witch, the elf was relieved as he knew he could get the fire put out and hopefully fully restore the gardens before they started to wreck more havoc.

"Hey 'Story!" called out Daphne. "Have you had any success yet?"

Astoria grinned in self satisfaction as she was farther along on her task than these two were with theirs. "I think we have what we need in this book."

Hannah noted the smug look that the younger Greengrass was giving them and she decided to soften the younger woman's delight. "Well, it sure helped you that Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of our age, gave you a head start by sending you that book. She wouldn't have sent it along in the first place if she wasn't absolutely sure it had something useful in its pages."

Astoria pouted, "Well, at least I have something to help Harry with the next task. Are you two done blowing up the courtyard?"

"Do you want to help with the rune sequences?" snapped Daphne.

"No thanks, sis," replied Astoria. "You were always so much better at that then I was in school." After a quick look around the courtyard, she continued, "So, where are the men? Not making themselves particularly helpful from what I can see."

Hannah and Daphne looked at each other and then back towards Astoria. Hannah then spoke up. "I haven't seen the since breakfast, I think they said something about needing to go to the village."

"Maybe they should be helping us with this," added Daphne. She then called out to Nicho and asked him if he knew where Harry and the other young men had gone. He told them he knew that they had travelled to the village late in the morning and that they should be back any time, as it was getting late for serving lunch. Daphne suggested that perhaps Nicho could find them and bring them back to the villa. The house elf gave a mischievous smile as he replied that he would do anything to keep the mistress of the villa happy. Then he vanished.

A minute later there were three stunned young men standing in the middle of the courtyard, each holding a partially eaten gyro in their hand. The three witches just stared at them in silence as they cast accusatory looks at the trio.

The three looked at their girlfriends and then at each other. Finally Draco spoke up, "It was Harry's idea."

Neville concurred, "Harry is the one who suggested we check out the stands."

"What stands?" asked Daphne sharply.

Harry was obviously squirming slightly. "I merely suggested that we give the village food stalls a try, see what they sold, see what we liked."

"Without us?" asked Hannah glaring at Neville.

Neville gulped and looked at Harry. Harry tried to salvage the situation, "I figured we should do some taste testing so we knew the best places to bring you lovely ladies."

"Keep talking," chided Daphne, not convinced that they were being above board.

Harry kicked Draco's foot, who jumped slightly. "Don't put this all on me," he whispered to his blonde friend.

"It is all on you already," replied Draco in a hushed voice. Then he spoke up to the women. "We had to check on something in the village and Harry said he was getting hungry, and then he asked if we had ever had souvlaki or gyros, and then he suggested that we try some of the local foods, and I tried to protest."

Neville scoffed, "Stop being such a snake, Draco, you did no such thing."

Daphne turned to Hannah, "So what do you think we should do with these three rude wizards?"

"Feed them to a chimera!" answered Astoria from the other side of the courtyard.

"Make them fix the stupid spell," added Hannah.

"But none of us even took runes or arithmancy at school," protested Harry.

Draco looked at him as he said, "Speak for yourself Potter."

"Fine, then you figure it out," responded Harry. Turning back to the women, he continued, "However, if you would like some really good souvlaki, we know just where to take you."

Daphne huffed, "Not helping, Harry."

"Too much like back in school," commented Hannah.

"How's that?" asked Harry.

"Hermione's still doing your work for you, even if she's not here," answered Hannah. "And we're not seeing enough work from you to help out," she added.

Harry started to protest.

Neville frowned at his friend, "She's got a point mate."

"Thanks for the support, here Nev," snapped Harry.

Daphne watched this interplay and turned and walked out of the courtyard. All of the their eyes followed her, and several of their group flinched as Daphne slammed the door shut behind her when she entered the villa. Harry started to follow after her, but Astoria grabbed his arm to hold him back. Harry turned to face the younger Greengrass.

Astoria looked up into Harry's eyes and quietly stated, "Not now, you need to give her a few minutes."

Harry pulled his arm back and was going to head after Daphne despite what her sister said. Draco spoke up, "Believe her, she knows what she is talking about. Daphne will hex you into next week if she is really angry. It would be much safer to let her calm down first."

"What got her so upset?" Harry wondered out loud.

Neville stepped up next to Harry and put his arm on his friend's shoulder. "Think about the events of this morning, or even the past few weeks. And think about how she might be feeling, with everything going on. And then add your apparent lack of help recently into the mix." Neville patted his friend on the shoulder and then walked over to Hannah, "So, can you give us an update with how you're doing with the spell?"

Harry looked around at the two couples. Draco avoided looking back at Harry as he was dealing with glares from Astoria. As Harry slowly walked over to the door that Daphne had used, he overheard Astoria chiding Draco. "Thought it was fun to go and have a day off and leave us working on the project, did you?"

Harry ended up standing in the entryway, wondering where Daphne would have gone. After a couple of minutes of thinking about his situation, he called out to Nicho and asked the house elf if he knew where Daphne had gone.

"Master Harry's lady walked down the path to the boat house," replied the elf.

Harry thought about running after her, but then he had another idea. "Nicho, could you bring me down to the boat house?"

* * *

Harry was sitting on a bench next to the boathouse, patiently waiting for his girlfriend to arrive. He figured it would take her another couple of minutes to make her way down the path to the dock, so he knew that he didn't have long to think about how he would handle this situation. He heard footsteps walking along the wooden dock, and hesitated a moment before standing up and stepping out from behind the boathouse where he had been out of her view.

Daphne stopped and glared at him.

Harry sighed and let his shoulders fall, and then he spoke up. "I'm sorry Daph, really I am."

She glared at him in silence for a moment, before responding, "And just what are you sorry for?"

"Being a jerk?" It was a question, not a statement, and he quickly saw the reaction that produced. Daphne started to turn around. He called out to her, "Please, don't leave. Really, I am sorry. We shouldn't have gone off without you, and I see how it looks as though I was leaving all of the work up to you and Hannah and Story. I should have been more helpful."

Daphne turned and looked at him. Her arms were crossed across her chest, which only accentuated her figure. Harry tried to calm his physical reaction to the sight of his girlfriend. "Thoughtless. Idiotic. Self-centred. Arrogant."

Harry listened as she rattled off more descriptions which were not particularly flattering. "You forgot egotistical, foolish, and charming."

Daphne responded, "I was getting around to those." She paused momentarily, then glared at him again. "But I never would have said charming."

"No, but you thought it," added Harry with a grin.

"Are we back at a muggle pub last fall?" she asked. "I could repeat arrogant, thoughtless and add rude and irritating."

Harry conjured a chair and sat down. "Enough of the name calling. You are right though, we shouldn't have gone off to the village with you. Or more to the point, I shouldn't have done that. And I can try and be more helpful with the runes."

Daphne walked over towards Harry and with a quick flick of her wand Harry's chair was underneath her as she was sitting down and Harry found himself sprawled on the dock. Harry grunted slightly as he smacked the back of his head on the boards. He then jumped back up on his feet, conjured a second chair and sat down again.

"And you can't help with the runes and the arithmancy," commented Daphne, "you never studied those topics. You really wouldn't be able to help." She looked at him and bit her lip.

"So, I am in trouble for not helping with something I couldn't help with," he said as he scratched his head.

"No, you are in trouble for leaving us to do your work for you. This is all to help you, Potter. Your friends are all here to help you. We're all willing to put ourselves at risk facing one of the scariest creatures we will ever face, because none of us are stupid enough to go face to face with a dragon or a basilisk one on one." She smiled at him. "You're the fool who does those things. But you need to not take your friends for granted. You need to stop behaving like you're back in school, like when you let Hermione do all your work and you and Ron did nothing."

Harry looked at her quizzically.

"Don't look at me like that," she admonished him. "Everyone in our year knew that you two hardly studied and relied on Granger to help you get through almost every class. You're doing it again, sending her off to the library to do your research for you."

"Well, I suppose you're right about school," agreed Harry as he rubbed the tender spot on the back of his head, "but she wanted to go to Alexandria. For Hermione, that's a dream come true."

"But once again, Potter," she snapped back, "you're relying on her to do your work for you."

Harry felt confused. "But you just told me that I can't even help with some of the work."

Daphne rolled her eyes.

Harry thought for a moment, realising that he must be missing something here. The two sat in silence for another minute. Daphne moved like she was about to stand up and leave, then Harry reached out and took her hand with a pleading look on his face. Something started to click for him.

He had a questioning look as he spoke to her, holding her hand in his. "But, Hermione is not even here in Greece with us," he said simply.

Harry noted a raid eyebrow. He felt like he was getting warm. "I told you, there is nothing between Hermione and me, really. There never was, she's like a sister."

"A sister you still rely on for everything, it seems," she said as she sank back into the chair.

"Not everything," he countered.

Harry wrinkled his forehead as he tried to figure this whole situation out. "So, I'm in trouble for not doing enough to help with things I can't help with, and I am also in trouble for relying on Hermione, who isn't even here, to get us information that no one else has access to, and somehow I am relying on her more than my own girlfriend."

"That about sums it up," said Daphne. Then with a smirk she added, "But mostly for getting souvlaki and gyros without us."

Daphne stood up and walked to end of the dock and looked out over the Aegean Sea. Harry walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. He leaned into her from behind and spoke softly. "Okay, you have a point. I was a jerk. And I need to make it up to you."

Daphne continued to stare out over the sea. She leaned back into Harry's embrace. "You're right, you do. Today was the first time I really saw you acting the way Draco claimed you did back in school. I didn't like it. I hope that I don't have to see that ever again."

Harry took in a deep breath. "So, what do you need me to do? To help with the binding spell that is," he clarified.

Daphne thought for a moment, and then she answered, "Maybe just be there while we work on it, give us some feedback, help us figure out if there is something we should be doing different, or just be supportive. Running off to grab lunch while we're busy, that's not helpful."

"You do have a point there," Harry conceded. "How about we work with you for a little and then take you all out for a night on the town."

Daphne spun around to face Harry. "Don't think for one minute you can buy your forgiveness and get back into my good graces with bribery. Try being more helpful and we'll see about the rest."

Harry nodded in agreement with her. "Hey whatever you say," he answered.

"But don't think that means you're not going to have to take us out tonight. You're still on the hook for that," she said with a smile as she gave Harry a kiss. "In the mean time, I do think that Hannah and Story and I need to get some lunch." She pushed Harry away gently and started to walk back up to the villa.

* * *

Two days later the group was sitting together on the veranda enjoying a simple lunch.

Neville spoke up as he wiped his face with a napkin, "You know, Yaya does make better souvlaki than what we had in the village the other day."

Harry was about to add something to his comment but a glare from Daphne kept him silent.

Hannah then spoke up, "So, we seem to have the spell down and the four of us who will need to use it to help subdue the chimera have all been practicing it. Have you found the island we need to go to yet, Harry?"

Harry pulled out the map he had of the various islands nearby. "Actually, based on the information we have received from Elphias Doge we have narrowed it down to a couple of choices. As he mentioned that there was an extinct volcano near where he saw the beast, we are pretty sure it is this one here," and he pointed to one of the islands on the map.

"How will we be getting there?" asked Astoria.

"We will arrange for side along apparition after Draco and I check it out by heading there on our brooms. We plan on establishing a safe camp on the western shore, as the island is apparently not inhabited."

"That seems odd for a small island in this area," commented Astoria.

"The information we have about the island which came from Elphias Doge is that it must be hidden from muggles through some sort of magical wards. However, this map we have was sent to us from Hermione, and the map seems to be enchanted which is probably why we can find the island. So, we will begin the exploration tomorrow morning."

Draco then added, "Don't forget that we'll all have to have emergency port keys made in case of trouble. And what ever you do, don't panic and leave someone behind if everything ends up going pear shaped."

"So, we all have our roles memorised for the encounter with the chimera," said Neville.

"Did you tell Hermione about our plans yet?" asked Hannah.

"I sent her an owl this morning letting her know we should be ready to go in the morning," answered Harry. "And yes, I did mention that we have everything covered and thanked her again for all of the information she has been sending our way."

Harry looked at Draco, as he asked him, "So, are you ready for a little excursion across the sea?"

"Anytime," smiled Draco. "But I'll try to go slow so I don't lose you along the way," he added with a smirk.

* * *

The next morning, the six friends had gathered on the western shore of the island. There was a tall mountain in the centre of the island. The three witches looked around at the surroundings and the hill that rose up from the coast towards the volcano.

Hannah gasped, "And you are sure that volcano is not active."

"Doge stated that it was an extinct volcano. His letter described a cave on the western side that led him into the middle of the volcano where the chimera was when he encountered it," answered Harry.

Neville nodded his head, "And this is supposed to not be intimidating to us at all. Just find a cave, enter a volcano, capture a chimera, and leave."

"You make it sound so easy, Nev," laughed Harry.

"I think I'd rather go face twelve Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries," added Neville. "No offence, Draco, but I think that would be less dangerous than this."

The group then started walking along an old trail that headed up the hill. After walking for about thirty minutes, the hill started rising at a steeper incline. Harry indicated that they should all take a rest and he suggested that he and Draco scout ahead on their brooms for the cave. The other four thought that sounded like a great idea as they pulled out water bottles and took a drink.

"We'll be right here waiting for you," said Astoria with a smile as Harry and Draco restored their brooms which they had previously shrunken and placed in the small backpacks they brought with them. The two then jumped on their brooms and started to explore the island from the air. They had already discussed flying far enough away to cover more ground but close enough to stay within eyesight. After about ten minutes of searching, Draco sent up a spray of sparks from his wand to let Harry know that he discovered a cave. Harry flew over and joined him at the entrance to the cave. They pulled back some branches from some shrubs and bushed that were growing near the opening, and they could see that it seemed to go fairly deep into the side of the volcano. Harry and Draco nodded to each other as they both assumed that this was where they would need to begin the net part of their journey. They flew back to meet up with the rest of their group.

As they discussed with the others about the best way to get to the cave, they decided that Draco would take Astoria with him on his broom and Neville would ride Harry's broom with Hannah. Harry would then take Daphne and side along apparate to the cave. After arriving at the mouth of the large cavern, Harry cast more flares into the air with his wand to help them all find where to go. Several minutes later the four others arrived at the cave, with Neville holding onto Hannah tightly. Draco explained that Neville nearly fell off the broom three times and that was when they decided to have Hannah fly the broom with Neville holding on.

Neville was red in the face as he jumped onto the ground and his knees buckled. "Give me a thestral to ride anytime instead of a broom," he panted.

Hannah gave me a light kiss on the cheek as she comforted him, "That's all right Nev, honey, you did just fine."

Draco turned away so as not to openly laugh at the young Lord Longbottom. Astoria slapped his arm and quietly admonished him to behave, hoping that the others did not hear her.

"Right," said Harry, "everybody get your wands and cast a lumos spell, we don't know how far we will have to go through the cave to get to the middle of the volcano."

Everyone did as Harry had commanded and soon they were all filing through the cavern, which sloped downwards at a slight angle. After walking for about twenty minutes the narrow path through the cavern started to slope up again. As they started to head up, after about ten minutes Harry could see a small sliver of light ahead of them. Quietly he told them all to put out the lights on their wands and they walked slowly up the rest of the passageway, using their hands along the walls to help feel their way along. After another fifteen minutes of slow progress they could see a large opening about fifty meters ahead. Harry cast silencing charms over their feet as they approached the opening. They moved slowly to allow their eyes to adapt to the light again.

As they reached the opening, they stood behind a large rock so that they could assess the area within the volcano. It was clear that the volcano had been inactive for quite some time as there were many plants and trees growing throughout the area. Harry estimated that it was at nearly one kilometre to the far side of the valley that had been left from the ancient volcanic activity. There was evidence of several rock slides that had occurred on some of the slopes leading into the centre. The terrain was rocky and uneven. Harry noted a clearing towards the centre of the area that must have been about fifty meters diameter. However, from this vantage point at the opening to the cave, or tunnel, he could not see any evidence of the famed creature which they were searching for. Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak, slipped it on and then took off on his broom. He circled around the inside of the volcano and he noted that there was something lying near the edge of the clearing, however, due to the shadows cast on it from the surrounding rocks and bushes, he could not tell for sure what it was, and he did not want to get any closer on his own. Assuming that he had found his quarry, Harry returned to his companions.

The group of friends was startled slightly by the sound of Harry's feet landing on the rocks in front of them, followed by the sudden appearance of Harry as he pulled off his invisibility cloak.

"I knew you had a way to break the rules, Potter," sneered Draco. "You must have used that quite often back in school."

Harry grinned back at Draco, "Of course, it was quite handy for many things. However, this is not the time to reminisce, but to get our plan ready. It looks like the chimera is resting in the shade on the south side of this little valley. Everyone needs to work on getting into position. So, cast the disillusionment charms on yourselves and the silencing charms. Hannah and Neville, you two head to the west and the south side of the clearing. Draco can carry Astoria to the north side of the clearing and I'll bring Daphne to the eastern side. Once everyone is in place, Draco and I will fly in and get the attention of the creature. Don't move into the clearing until it is clear that the beast is in the centre, or close to it."

Everyone nodded to indicate that they understood Harry's directions.

"Make sure you have easy access to your emergency port keys," continued Harry. "I have planned a special dinner tonight for everyone, and you all better be there to enjoy it with me, so remember everything we practiced and let's get this done as quickly as possible."

In a few minutes, everyone was in position, which Harry confirmed by flying around under his invisibility cloak. Harry was a little worried about everyone's safety, but he knew that there was nothing more he could do to prepare. He then flew over to join Draco on the northern side of the valley. Harry removed his invisibility cloak and draped the griffon hide cloak over his back and placed the thin rope holding the thunderbird feather around his neck. He reached over and punched Draco in the shoulder.

"What was that for?" asked the blonde on the broom as he rubbed his arm slightly.

"That's for luck," Harry said with a smile. "Okay everyone, let's do this," he then shouted.

Draco cursed under his breath at Harry's method for starting this all off. "Bloody attention seeker," he said to no one in particular.

Harry and Draco sped out on their brooms into the clearing, and the chimera was stretching as it was getting up to investigate the noise that was Harry shouting to his friends. The chimera walked confidently to the middle of the clearing, knowing that it had nothing to be afraid of within its own domain. The lion let out a loud roar in anger as it noted two strange creatures flying around on the edge of the clearing. The lion's head kept watch over the flying creature that was heading towards the east and the goat's head kept its eyes on the other flyer. Meanwhile the snake just writhed about in the air, hoping that one would come close enough for it to help with the kill.

Harry then cast a flare of green sparks to signal for the others to start their approach. The chimera was roaring its displeasure at the two and the goat was breathing out short bursts of flame as a warning to the two who were disturbing its rest.

Draco tried to gauge how far the flames would travel and he tried to keep at least that far away. Both he and Harry were casting harmless flare charms at the chimera to annoy it but not to cause any physical harm. They knew that the chimera would be unhappy with the 'attack' but they did not want to make matters worse by enraging it through injury.

So far, their plan was working great, as the chimera heads were all looking up at the two on the brooms and it had not noticed any of the four people approaching it on the ground as they all entered the clearing at the same time. Neville held his left hand up to count down so they all could time their spell casting appropriately. Harry zoomed in a little closer to the front of the chimera to distract it further. He felt the slight heat of the flames from the goat but he was otherwise unscathed thanks to the protections of the cloak and the feather. Daphne gasped which caused her to delay in casting her spell. Meanwhile, the other three all were able to latch onto a leg with the modified body bind curse. The chimera roared in anger as it realised that it had been trapped. It tried to pull its legs free, but a moment later the one free leg was now bound as Daphne accomplished her spell.

Harry landed behind the chimera which was now facing in between Daphne and Astoria, towards the northeast. Daphne had the front right leg and Astoria had the front left leg while Neville and Hannah had the rear legs on the right and left sides of the beast respectively. Slowly Harry made his way closer to the chimera. The two front most heads were twisting trying to keep an eye on Draco who was still flying around, staying out of reach of the flames. The snake head caught a glimpse of Harry approaching it from behind, and the animal tried again to break free. In a desperate attempt to turn around towards the person who was approaching it from behind, the large creature pulled hard with its left front paw, which caused Astoria to be thrown to the ground and be pulled towards the chimera. Draco yelled a curse at the chimera, and he noted that Astoria was still holding onto the magical rope. Daphne was watching this occur and in a panic for her sister she wandlessly cast a stunner spell at the chimera, hitting the lion head in the midst of a terrifying roar.

The front half of the beast started to collapse, and the goat turned towards Daphne, to where it felt the stunner come from, and shot a breath of flame towards her. Daphne ducked, but the flames never reached her, as she was protected by a pair of shields which Harry and Draco had cast when they saw what was happening. Neville held onto the magical ropes with one hand as he cast a stunner at the goat head in response to the attack against Daphne. Soon the chimera had collapsed as two of the three heads were unconscious and it had lost control of at least two of its legs.

The snake head started to hiss angrily as it was not able to control the movement of its body as it was partially stunned. Harry started to approach cautiously as he could tell how angry it was. Harry tried to speak to the snake in Parseltongue, hoping to explain that he meant it no harm, but that he only needed the venom. The snake stopped hissing but watched him warily as Harry approached. The head of the asp seemed to calm and slowed down its movements. Harry continued to walk slowly towards the chimera, explaining calmly in Parseltongue that he only needed to collect the venom in a jar.

With his left hand, Harry removed the jar from inside of his cloak. He was grateful for the protections that the griffon hide and the thunderbird feather had provided, but he was still anxious as he walked closer to the deadly snake. Harry continued to speak to the snake, "I mean you no harm, I only need to obtain some of your venom in this jar. The rest of your body should recover in a few minutes." Harry waited for some sort of response from the chimera but there was none. Harry wondered if the snake could even speak Parseltongue as it was part of a very different creature, with the body parts of a goat and a lion. The group who were with Harry were all watching closely, but they found the hissing that Harry was doing to be very irritating to their ears. The bindings to the chimera's legs went slack as they all kept their eyes on Harry, even Draco had landed his broom by this time.

The asp was slowly bobbing its head up and down, almost as if it was entranced. Harry was less than three feet away from the head of the asp when it hissed at him. "Liar!" it called out in Parseltongue, "I will give you some venom, of that you can be sure." Then with a blur the head pulled back and then launched itself at Harry attempting to strike into his right arm. Those who were watching could not tell what happened next as everything seemed to blur. Harry had noticed the movement of the snake as it spoke and he felt that it was readying to strike. As the asp's head moved backwards to prepare for the attack, Harry began to move his left arm and hand. As the snake went to sink its fangs into his arm, Harry had the glass jar in the way and the snake sunk its teeth into the rubber lid. Harry watched with an idle curiosity as the venom leaked from the snake's fangs and into the jar.

Harry called out to his friends as he watched the thick fluid accumulate. "Everyone get ready to use your port keys and get out of here." He waited for a couple of seconds while they all grabbed their port keys. As the snake finally was able to get off of the jar with the rubber lid, Harry gave a nod to indicate they were ready to go. Harry and the others all spoke their activation words and they disappeared. The chimera's snake was lunging for another attack when it discovered that its target was no longer there.

* * *

The six friends arrived in the courtyard of the villa, and Nicho was awaiting them prepared to evaluate any injuries they may have sustained. As the group arrived almost simultaneously he was not sure who to check first. Harry directed his elf to check on Astoria, as it turned out she had twisted her ankle when she was pulled over by the chimera. Within a matter of minutes it was clear that she was the only one who had sustained any real injury, and her sprained ankle was quickly healed.

The attack on the chimera happened so fast, that Astoria and Daphne barely saw anything at all from the far side of the beast. "You did get the venom, didn't you?" questioned Daphne.

Harry grinned from ear to ear, "Of course I did, thanks to the careful planning of the rest of you. And your binding spells worked great. Well, other than Story getting hurt."

Hannah commented that she was impressed with how well their research worked with altering the spell, for she was sure she saw at least one of the magical ropes withstand a blast of flames from the goat head. Turning to Harry she added, "You must have moved really fast, I was sure that the asp was going to bite your arm."

Neville concurred, "It must have been your reflexes from playing quidditch that allowed you to move so fast. I guess all of those years playing seeker really made a difference today."

Harry was about to reply when Draco scoffed and caught everyone's attention.

"What was that for?" asked Daphne.

"That was not quidditch," said Draco. "I've seen the reflexes of someone who plays quidditch. I've played seeker against Harry and I've seen how quick he can move. No, what he just did was much faster than anything I've ever seen him do before." Turning to Harry he continued, "How did you do that? That was amazing. I've never seen anything like that before."

Harry looked at Draco with surprise. "It was a reflex, I'm not sure how that happened." He thought about it a little and then he looked down at the thunderbird feather hanging from around his neck. "Maybe it is a benefit of having the feather to help protect me."

Draco looked at the feather and then back up at Harry. "Whatever it was, I was impressed."

* * *

The group of friends spent a few days relaxing and enjoying the comforts of the villa. Harry had sent an owl to let Hermione know that their efforts had been successful. He received an excited reply a couple of days later, and she went on to explain that she had obtained a research position at the library and she would be staying longer. One of the things she was hoping to do was research more about ways she might be able to restore her parents' memories. Harry sent another letter to her wishing her well on her studies and letting her know that their group would be returning to England shortly.

It was mid August and Harry was settling back into his manor. Daphne and Astoria had returned to their parents' home, although Daphne did spend the majority of her time with Harry. Neville had thanked Harry for allowing him to be a part of another adventure but he had to return to finish preparing for the upcoming school year with Professor Sprout. Draco was about to begin his final year of Auror training, and they all knew that he would be too busy to help out with the remaining adventure. Hannah also needed to return to her work. She had been helping out with running the Leaky Cauldron from time to time, and the owner, Tom, was hoping to have some time off before the end of the month rush as more and more families showed up to Diagon Alley for last minute shopping before the school year was to begin.

Harry and Daphne had some down time together to relax, but that only lasted a couple of days. Harry then brought up the need to complete the next task, which should prove to be decidedly less stressful than the previous three.

"Unicorn tears?" asked Daphne. "And just how do you expect to obtain those?"

Harry grinned at her. "There is only one way to obtain unicorn tears," he answered, "and I was hoping that you would be able to do that for me."

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, "Do tell, Mr. Potter."

"Only a virgin can get the unicorn to shed its tears so that they can be collected." There was an awkward pause before he continued, "So, if you are not too busy tomorrow, would you care to give me a hand?"

Daphne blushed. "Apparently I am more useful to you on this stage than on any of your previous tasks."

Harry smiled broadly, "And for that I am most definitely in your debt, my dear."

* * *

_A few weeks previously…_

Ron Weasley was in a particularly miserable mood. He had spent two weeks trying to get information about Harry Potter or some other mystery patient at the magical hospital in New Orleans. All he ended up with was food poisoning from eating bad crawfish and several threats from the magical and muggle police for creating a disturbance. Eventually he was able to determine that if Harry had been a patient there he had been discharged sometime in July or the end of the June, and no one would give him any information about where he might have gone. Ron was not even able to find any information about his fellow classmates from Hogwarts who had been seen in the vicinity of the hospital. Finally he gave up trying to find out anything further and he returned home to England.

Ron noted that there were two primary results of his unfruitful foray to New Orleans. One was that his sister would be really angry with him for not getting her any useful information. The second was that as he had been away from England, his brother George had calmed down a bit and was willing to allow Ron to work at the store in Hogsmeade, provided he actually did some work there and avoided any trouble, particularly if Harry Potter or any of his friends showed back up in the area.

Ron was running short on cash and he was tired of the problems. He just hoped that he didn't run into Ginny for a while, as he would personally prefer to avoid any further hexes. He wondered why she was so bitter after this time, however he didn't have time to waste on wondering about that too much, for he couldn't afford to mess up his job any more. He needed to do right by George, he needed the money, and he knew he needed to stay away from any more problems with the Aurors.

* * *

It was now getting to be late in August, and Harry was hoping that Hagrid would be back from his travels over the summer. He and Daphne used the floo to arrive at the Three Broomsticks. Harry had suggested that they have breakfast there before heading up to Hogwarts and looking for the gamekeeper and professor for care of magical creatures. As they finished their meal, Harry had a request for Daphne. He had hoped that she would stay behind at the tavern while he went to see if Ron Weasley was at his brother's joke shop. Harry was hoping to avoid any further confrontations with his former friend. Daphne indicated that she understood, even if she was worried that any encounter that her boyfriend would have with the red-headed idiot would not end up well. Harry even suggested that Daphne should make her way up to the gate at Hogwarts without going near Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, and wait for him there. She had only agreed to this with the understanding that if he was not there within twenty minutes then she would come looking for him.

Harry walked up the street and saw the entrance to the joke shop. There were several people walking up and down the streets and he assumed that there would already be a customer or two in George's store, and he hoped that the presence of anyone would prevent any encounter with Ron from escalating as his last meeting had done, or as the more recent encounter that Hermione, Daphne and Draco had with him. As Harry stepped into the store, he heard the sound of a foghorn go off, alerting the store that another customer had arrived. Harry cursed under his breath, frustrated that there would be no easy way in or out of the building. He quickly noted that there were a few customers already examining various pieces of merchandise and they all seemed to ignore the loud sound. Harry relaxed a little and proceeded to walk towards the back of the store, having a look around at the newest items that George had developed. As Harry rounded a tall shelf that was covered with various odd packages with ominous looking warning labels, he came face to face with his former roommate.

In silence the two young men just stared at each other. Finally, Ron broke the silence, "You? What are you doing here?"

"Actually," answered Harry as he let out a slow breath, "I came here to talk with you. It's not right, the way we have been at each other for the past year or so. I just hoped that we could clear the air, at least enough so we don't have to worry about hexing each other."

Ron stood silent for a moment, and then he finally asked, "Is the snake with you? Or any of the snakes?"

"Daphne is waiting for me," replied Harry, "at the end of the street."

"Oh," was the simple comment from Ron. "Where's Hermione then?"

"I believe that she is still in Egypt," said Harry flatly. "She got a job working at a rather unique library."

Ron actually allowed himself to smile slightly. "That figures. Sounds like it would be just her thing."

"Right. It is," added Harry. "It's actually bloody brilliant for her, she is doing research and she has access to rare texts and magic. I'm sure she's absolutely loving it there."

Ron narrowed his eyes. "So, why are you back here? At Hogwarts? I heard you were hurt."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "To answer your questions, in order. One, I have some more work to do; two, I need to get something that hopefully Hagrid can help me with; and three, yes, I was back in June, but I'm doing quite well now, thank you very much."

"Right," said Ron simply. "So, is that it then?"

"Yeah, I guess that would be it, then," answered Harry. He started to turn to leave, and then he hesitated and turned back to face Ron. "Actually, no it's not it. There is more."

Now Ron raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, more?"

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, Ron," said Harry slowly, "but you've been a right nasty git for going on two years. Actually, almost since the war has been over. What the bloody hell has been wrong with you?"

Ron's jaw dropped, and then he tried to gather his thoughts after the verbal sting he felt from Harry's words.

"With me?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, with you," said Harry. "When did everything become a competition between us?"

Ron looked away from Harry for a minute as he thought about the words of his former best friend. "I suppose, it's always been there. For me at any rate. You're the one who always had the fame, and the attention, and then the money."

Harry shook his head. "Ron, you were with me for most of the seven years we were in school, or the years we were supposed to be at school. I never had much as far as money back then, and you knew how much I hated the fame I had when I came to school. I was famous for things I did when I could barely walk. That would be like being famous for messing in your nappy, no kids that age can help it, and some make more of a mess with it than others. I sure as bloody hell didn't ask for Riddle to come and try and kill me. And you know as well as anyone what I had to do to get past all of that."

Harry avoided Ron's eyes as he was disgusted to have to talk about any of this again, especially with Ron. He looked back up at Ron, and then he continued, "So what was it of mine that you wanted so much? A psychotic powerful dark wizard sending everyone and everything he could think of after you?"

Ron shifted uneasily on his feet. Harry quietly waited for some sort of answer. Finally Ron spoke up. He admitted to Harry that he was jealous over Harry's fame, and that he was jealous over Harry's friendship with Hermione. Ron admitted that he understood that he had completely bolluxed up that relationship.

Harry interrupted Ron, "You know, you do have your own fame. People know that you were there with Hermione and I over the years at school, and that you helped me in defeating Riddle once and for all. You didn't need to prove yourself to anyone."

"Well, I did a pretty good job of messing up everything else, such as my training, and my work here even."

Harry looked around, "You seem to be doing pretty okay at this time. You've got a job, that's a place to start."

Ron smiled slightly. "So, do you think I would ever have another chance with Hermione."

Harry was completely shocked by Ron's question and he coughed so hard trying not to overreact that he had a hard time not laughing at him. "Sorry, Ron, but that would be a most definite no." Harry waited a minute to judge Ron's reaction, but he did not see any. "So, what are you really up to with George, you can't be just selling the merchandise here."

"Actually," answered Ron, "I have been helping George with research and development on various products. Apparently I have been at least as helpful as Fred was on this development stuff. George says I must have the knack for it, just like Fred, so he wants me to help with some of his bigger projects."

"What are those?" asked Harry.

"Can't say," Ron said with a conspiratorial wink, "secret company business, you know." Harry actually thought he saw a twinkle in Ron's eye. "But enough about that," he continued, "what is up with all of these missions or tasks you have been up to recently?"

Harry let out a slow deep breath. "Just something I need to get done, and the sooner the better."

Ron eyed Harry suspiciously. Deciding to let the go for now, he then changed the subject. "So what ever did happen between you and my sister, Ginny?"

Harry initially flinched at the mention of her name. Then he calmed down as he could tell Ron was being sincere in his question. "Well, basically, she was mostly just a fangirl when we were younger, and then she let her fame as a quidditch player get to her," Harry said, with little emotion in his voice. "But mostly, she was always your little sister, and that just didn't seem right. Add to that her revolving door dating policy back at school, which apparently continued after school and while she was playing quidditch."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "But she was dating you then."

Harry frowned, "Yeah, but not just me, apparently."

Ron was about to defend his sister but as he was going to say something to Harry he thought better of it and merely said, "Oh." After a minute of silence between them, Ron did add, "Well if what you're saying is right, I guess I could understand your wanting nothing to do with her." Ron then gave a crooked smile, "I guess it was easier to blame her issues on you than my own little sister."

Harry nodded in understanding, and then turned to leave.

Ron stopped him with a question, "So, Harry, just what are all of these tasks or missions that you are doing that seem to be taking you all over the world?"

Harry stopped, "Nothing much, just going toe to toe with a griffon and then a chimera. Pretty routine stuff for me, it seems."

Ron thought back to the times they shared fighting a troll, Harry facing a basilisk and everything else they had done together. He let out a sigh, both for his fond memories of what they had done together, and for being thankful that he was _not_ facing those things with Harry anymore. Ron looked at Harry and his expression made it clear that he was not longing to join Harry on such dangerous quests.

Harry added, "And soon I will have to go face to face with a dragon, again. Capture one actually."

Ron paled, "Why a dragon?"

Harry simply answered, "To settle a debt."

Ron wrinkled his brow as he thought about this statement. "Who would you owe a debt to like that?" He then stopped himself as he finally realised who would require a debt like that. His face changed to one of shock, and he was about to say something more, but Harry cut him off.

"Ron, no, I have arranged everything. This will settle the debts for me and for my friends, you owe them nothing."

Ron's jaw dropped. Harry turned and started to leave the shop. As the door was about to close behind him, Harry was sure he heard Ron say some words which were quite rare for him…"Thank you."

* * *

**AN: Again, I have been working on getting this posted sooner, sorry for the delay.**


	15. Chapter 15

Royal London Hospital: 9 AM (Thursday)

The Royal London Hospital Emergency Room was crazy as usual, but the fact that it was so busy at 9 in the morning was unusual. One of the staff nurses came out of a patient room and bumped into a stretcher that she did not recall being there when she had entered the room. The fact that there was abode on the stretcher also surprised her. Even though she was busy with the influx of patients due to a traffic accident that brought in several patients at once, she paused to look at the patient on the gurney in front of her. She noted there was no identifying bracelet on his arm. She also noted that whoever this patient was, he was unconscious and appeared to have several injuries. She turned around and called out for someone to help her.

A young doctor who had recently completed his training as an emergency physician came around the corner with a disgusted look on his face. "Now what?" he demanded of the nurse. As he was asking the question he too noticed the previously unseen stretcher with a patient. Noting that the nurse was now calling for someone to help her assess the patient and obtain vital signs, he ran over and began to evaluate the patient. "Dammit, I'm a doctor not a magician," muttered the doctor as he realised the severity of the young man's injuries. "Quick, get him into trauma bay one!" he ordered.

"There's already a patient there," replied the nurse. The young doctor looked up at the nurse, eyeing her name on her identification badge, "Well, then, Miss Chapel, where would you suggest we put him? Or do you think we should just evaluate and treat him here in the hallway?"

She glared at the doctor for the way he spoke to her, but she answered calmly, "Trauma bay three should be open." She then began to push the stretcher as the doctor returned to evaluating the patient even as the bed was rolling.

The physician muttered to no one in particular, "Who opened the gates of hell this morning?"

* * *

_{Monday morning, earlier in the week}  
_

_Harry and Daphne approached the gates to Hogwarts. Harry had just finished explaining to his girlfriend how his most recent encounter with his former best mate had gone. She gave him a big hug and a quick kiss on the lips. _

"_I knew you had it in you to try and salvage at least some sort of friendship with Weasley," said Daphne. "It's probably part of your saving people thing. Hopefully we won't have to deal with him trying to hex me or Astoria any more if we run into him again."_

_Harry smiled back at her. "Although, I am pretty sure Draco might have to duck if he ever ran into Ronald." _

_The young couple shared a laugh as they thought about Ronald trying to get into a duel with Draco. Then Harry added, "Although, it wouldn't help Ron any to get into a fight with an Auror, he's lost enough of those already."_

_Harry and Daphne walked slowly across the fields on the edge of the Hogwarts property, heading past the Black Lake and towards Hagrid's Cottage. Even from the distance Harry was sure that they would find Hagrid there today as he noted the smoke coming from the chimney. Arriving at the large hut, Harry noted that the half giant was working in his garden._

"_Hagrid!" called out Harry._

"_Eh? Oh, it's you Harry! How 'ave ye bin?" asked the large man with the thick accent. "And who be this lass who with ye? You dunna look like Ginny."_

_Harry tried to suppress any anger at Hagrid's mentioning of his former girlfriend. "This is Daphne Greengrass, Hagrid. You might remember her from the class care for magical creatures, she was in my year at Hogwarts." Harry hesitated to say she was in Slytherin House, knowing how Hagrid had declared to him that only dark wizards came from that house._

"_Well, hullo, and good day to yeh then miss," said the large man as he took a handkerchief from out of his pocket to wipe his hands before offering to shake hers. Daphne wondered if the attempt to clean his hands only made them dirtier due to the condition of the cloth he had used. "Yeh do look familiar to me. I think I remember, now, you were a quiet one when yeh was a student as I recall."_

_Daphne tried to shake his hand, but she only managed to get a hold of a couple of his enormous fingers. She smiled back at him as she politely replied, "Your classes were always interesting as I recall. And Harry has shared so many stories of how he enjoyed spending time with you when he was, or when we were students."_

"_Aint she a charmer," commented Hagrid as he turned back to Harry. "Perfesser McGonagall told me that yeh had been lookin' fer me earlier this summer."_

_Harry put his arm around Daphne, and then he began to tell Hagrid a bit about his summer. "Well, I have been on an adventure of sorts, and I have to accomplish several tasks. Most recently we had to find a chimera and get some of the venom from the snake head on its tail."_

"_Now Harry, chimeras can be nasty and tricky," said Hagrid with a frown. "I wouldn't recommend that ye be bothering' with that sort of creature. They are kind of cute though."_

_Harry nearly laughed as he noticed Daphne rolling her eyes. "Oh, we know that Hagrid, we already got the venom. We did that last week."_

"_Yeh mean that the two of you, you and Daphne," exclaimed Hagrid, "you caught a chimera?"_

"_Not just the two of us," corrected Harry politely. "Neville was there with us, and Hannah Abbott."_

"_Well, that's good," said Hagrid who was smiling now that he knew that Harry had help with that adventure. "So what brings you lot here terday?"_

* * *

Royal London Hospital: 9:20 AM (Thursday)

The young emergency room physician and the nurse who was with him were concerned. This patient, this John Doe, had severe injuries everywhere. There was an obvious compound fracture in the young man's right forearm, bruising over the abdomen and chest, suggesting internal injuries, the left leg was at an odd angle indicating another broken limb, and blood coming from his ears. As they cut away his clothes they noted various contusions and abrasions, in addition to a fair number of scars. John Doe was unresponsive and the doctor was concerned that this mysterious patient might not make it.

"Not on my watch," he said to himself, "and not if I can help it."

The physician started calling out orders for IV access and fluids, cross matching of blood, O negative blood to be given in a transfusion, lab tests and x-rays. "Get orthopaedics down here now!" he commanded. "Get the cardiac monitor hooked up!"

He looked at the other nurses and staff running into the room to assist with the patient. He turned to an aide who came in, "Do we have any ID on this guy? Who brought him here? Did none even see where he came from? Is there any family or friends here?" He looked back to the monitors and noted the pulse of 55, the blood pressure of 87/48, and the oxygen saturation level of 89%. "Bloody hell," was all he could say when he reviewed everything. "What did he do, fall out of an aeroplane?" he wondered out loud.

* * *

_{Monday, earlier in the week}..._

_Hagrid listened as Harry recounted the story of fining the thunderbird and Daphne explained how they found him. Hagrid was worried when he heard about Harry's injuries, but Harry reassured his large friend that he had excellent care, and that Hermione, Daphne and Draco all made sure of that. Harry then went on to tell Hagrid of their facing a griffon in Australia, and how they had met up with Hermione. Hagrid shed a tear at the thought that he had missed seeing little 'Mione again, but he was happy to hear that she was doing research at the Library of Alexandria._

_After finishing recounting the previous adventures of that year, Harry explained that they now needed to obtain tears from a unicorn._

"'_Arry, you should know that only a…a…a virgin," stuttered the half giant, blushing slightly in the presence of Daphne, "only a virgin can get tears from a unicorn."_

_Daphne smiled sweetly. Harry tried to hold back a laugh but failed. "That's why Daphne is here," he said simply._

"_Oh," replied Hagrid feeling slightly foolish, "well, that makes sense."_

_Now Daphne started to blush. _

_Harry then asked, "So, can you help us gather some unicorn tears?"_

_Hagrid let out a long sigh. "Well, to tell yer the truth, it al depends on those little critters, if they will even come to the edge of the forest. They don't always wanna be exactly helpful, if you know what I mean. They can be timid little guys, but then again, they jus' might come outta their hidin' places fer ya."_

"_So, what do we do now?" asked Daphne._

"_Well, we can go over to the edge of the forest, and we can see if we can find them," answered the half giant. "They can be kind of particular about who they are willing to let see them and who they are willing to let come near them. Sometimes, if a fair maiden can sing sweetly enough, particularly at night, they may come out and have a look at who it is who is singing to them."_

_Daphne frowned at this. "I'm not really that good of a singer. I don't know any songs."_

"_Well, you see," explained Hagrid, "it's not the words that draw them near, but the melody. So, even if you could hum, say, somethin' like a lullaby, that might be enough to draw their attention to you."_

_Harry gently squeezed her hand. "Well, it is worth a try," he suggested hopefully. Harry then asked when would be the best time to come by, and Hagrid suggested in the early evening, just before dusk. _

_Harry then thanked Hagrid for his help, and then he and Daphne turned to leave. Harry suggested that they head back to Diagon Alley as he needed to stop by Gringotts and he suggested that Daphne could do some shopping while he was busy taking care of business with the goblins. They walked together to just past the gates of Hogwarts and once they were outside of the anti-apparition wards they disappeared to the Leaky Cauldron and then they entered Diagon Alley. Daphne had told Harry that she would probably spend the afternoon by visiting her parents, and she suggested that he join her there for dinner. Harry agreed with her that her plan sounded like a good one, and he gave her a quick kiss and then he left to head to the bank._

* * *

Royal London Hospital: 9:50 AM (Thursday)

The emergency physician was looking at the x-ray and ultrasound reports. He shook his head in frustration. Whoever this John Doe was, he had some serious injuries. His spleen was ruptured, and he may also have a lacerated liver. HIs right arm had a compound and comminuted fracture of the ulna and radius in the mid shaft, his left tibia and fibula were also fractured, and they would also require the orthopaedic surgeon to perform another open reduction and internal fixation procedure. However, what concerned him most was the skull fractures and the subdural hematoma. The on call neurosurgeon was already in the middle of another case. The trauma surgeon and the orthopaedic surgeon didn't want to begin their procedures without neurosurgery first stabilising the subdural hematoma. Meanwhile, the patient was receiving his fourth unit of O negative blood, and his blood pressure was still not stable.

He called to one of the nurses who just walked by the trauma bay. "Have you obtained any information from the police? No recent accidents to explain what happened to this man?"

The nurse shook her head. "Nothing to report from them, as all victims the accidents they know about are accounted for and no one here saw anyone bring that young man into the hospital. No missing person reports. Nothing to go on whatsoever."

The doctor pushed his hand through his hair as he puzzled over the mystery of this young man. He looked down at the injured body on the stretcher as he pondered what could have happened to the young man. He had a lot of scars, so he presumed he had a tough life, probably in some sort of gang. However, other than the odd lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, there was nothing else that was suggestive of being in a gang, there were no tattoos that would associate the man with any particular group, he had no track marks suggesting drug use. Something just didn't add up.

He quickly scanned the patient in front of him one more time. He thought that it was odd that there seemed to be less bruising over his abdomen that what he recalled when he first examined this John Doe. He dismissed that thought as being due to misjudging what he initially saw with the first inspection. The patient was still in critical condition, and something needed to be done and fast to stabilise the young man's condition.

* * *

{Monday afternoon...}

_Harry met with the goblins at Gringotts Bank in a private chamber. Ragnok was pleased to hear that Harry felt he was getting closer to being able to obtain a dragon for the bank's vaults. He questioned Harry as to when he thought that would occur. Harry explained that he was hoping to be heading for the dragon the following week, after getting the last ingredient to prepare for the task later that day._

_Harry then asked Ragnok if he could write out a will._

"_A will?" asked the surprised goblin, "but surely you don't expect anything untoward to happen."_

"_I know," replied Harry, "however, I want to be sure that what ever I have, what ever is in my vaults, that it goes to someone I care about. I know that as of today, I still am indebted to Gringotts, but whatever is left over if something should happen to me before I erase that debt, I want that, all of it, to go to Daphne."_

_Ragnok could sense the seriousness in Harry's desire to do right by the woman he cared about, as well as knowing how serious Harry took his debt to the goblins. This was not an ordinary wizard as far as any in the goblin nation was concerned. This was a human who the goblins could actually respect._

_Ragnok excused himself from meeting with Harry, and he explained that he would be back in a few minutes. When Ragnok returned he had several items with him. The first was a scroll, then was soon revealed to be a simple will that captured Harry's desire to leave everything to Daphne quite well. The second was a special emergency port key. The goblin leader went on to explain to Harry that the port key was set so as to transport Harry to the best facility to provide for him in case something went wrong with facing the dragon. _

"_Now, Mr. Potter," Ragnok explained, "this port key has some very special properties. You see we do have a vested interest in your success, as well as in some of your more exclusive possessions. Therefor, we would like to take precautions. Not only will this port key transport you to a facility to provide you with the best of care and it will simultaneously transport any of your magical possessions to a secure vault here at Gringotts."_

_Harry raised a concerned eyebrow at these comments. "First of all, whose vault? Second of all, why would you think you need to go to such lengths to protect my belongings? Do you think I have no chance in bringing you back a dragon?"_

_Ragnok raised a hand to wave off Harry's concerns. "You misunderstand me, my friend. To answer your first concern, it will be the Potter family vault to which these belongings would be transported. Therefor, based on your newly drafted will, which we will need to finalise shortly, it would become the possession of whomever you designate as your heir or heirs. To answer your second concern, we are bankers and we have business interests which we are obligated to protect, even by our own laws. If something untoward were to happen to your person while you were on such a quest such as obtaining a dragon for Gringotts Bank, then there could be construed that there exists a certain amount of responsibility for your actions and your fate would rest with the bank. Some of your possessions are considered highly valuable within the magical world, and we could not afford to be found negligent in protecting certain assets from being lost or damaged or from falling into the wrong hands."_

_Harry nodded his understanding. "If this is such a concern to you now, why did you not give me such protection when I began my earlier quests?"_

_Ragnok grinned in response to Harry's question, and the appearance of his face was unsettling to Harry. "Quite simply put, you were on your own with those quests. Searching for a griffon or a thunderbird or even a chimera, those things are not directly related to our request for you to bring us a dragon. Those tasks were undertaken by you in order to help you accomplish the one task we have set before you. Therefor, we, Gringotts Bank and the goblin nation, would have had no culpability in the event of any unfortunate accidents resulting in harm to your person or your belongings. However, at this time, we do feel that to protect our interests we need to take these measures."_

_Harry felt no reassurance at these statements. After a moment of careful consideration, he asked another question. "And the cost to me for such services and protection of my personal belongings?"_

_Ragnok frowned slightly at this question, and then he answered Harry. "Gringotts has prepared the emergency port key at our own expense as a measure of insurance to protect our interests at this time. We are happy to provide this service to such an important customer as yourself."_

"_I am not truly a customer but merely a servant at this time," replied Harry flatly._

"_True enough," acknowledged Ragnok, "however, your service, should you complete it, as we fully anticipate you shall, will free you from any obligations to the bank and to the goblin nation, and you will have achieved the return of your family to their status as goblin friend."_

_Harry smiled back at Ragnok. "I appreciate your concern then for my well being and success in this endeavour."_

_Ragnok nodded in acceptance of Harry's comments, and then he called in a goblin scribe to record Harry's last will and testament in order to make it legal and official._

* * *

Royal London Hospital: 10:30 AM (Thursday)

The chaos that was the trauma centre at Royal London Hospital was not slowing down. Nurse chapel was showing the lab reports to the young emergency physician as he was still waiting on a neurosurgeon to show up.

"Dr. McCoy," she stated as she pointed to the monitors, "the patient's blood pressure is still dropping despite the fluids and the blood.

Dr. McCoy cursed under his breath. "Dammit, I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker."

The nurse looked at him silently wished he would stop making those trite comments.

The orthopaedic surgeon had left after making his initial assessment, and was waiting at the operative suite for the patient to be transferred there so they could start with the multiple surgeries that John Doe would require. Dr. McCoy looked at the left leg again that was splinted and he noted that the leg was already in a normal alignment. He turned to the nurse who was with him and he pointed out the leg.

"Did ortho already manipulate that leg here in the trauma bay?" he questioned.

The nurse looked back at the leg and shook her head, "No, they only told an assistant to splint the leg until they could deal with it under anaesthesia."

"What is going on here?" wondered Dr. McCoy.

* * *

{Monday evening}...

_Daphne had enjoyed having a quiet afternoon visiting with her parents. They were glad to hear that things had gone well and that the group of young friends had been able to have some time to have fun and relax while they were near Greece. They had already heard many of the stories about their adventure from Astoria who had arrived home earlier. Jonathan Greengrass had again expressed how the family business was continuing to thrive, all thanks to the efforts of Harry from earlier in the year._

_Harry arrived at the Greengrass home in time for dinner. He was greeted warmly by Daphne's parents. The conversation over dinner soon centred on Harry's plans after completing several recent adventures. Harry explained to the Greengrass family that he and Daphne would be finishing one project that evening, if all went well, and then he would be travelling alone to eastern Europe to complete his task. Daphne glared at him when he specifically stated that he would be travelling alone for the next part of his adventure. _

_Harry, however, did not back down. "Everything we have done has been leading up to this point, the final step in my getting my release from service to the goblins. This will be the most challenging part of the entire task."_

"_More challenging than trying to catch a thunderbird, which nearly killed you as I recall," snapped Daphne. _

"_I cannot allow you to be put in harms way if things don't work out," said Harry tenderly. "I will have the protections that the items we have obtained together will provide for me, but I will be the only one to be protected by them. It would be much too dangerous to have anyone else with me on this last stage."_

"_And what do you expect me to do while you run off on this foolish quest all by your self?" she demanded. "What if something were to happen to you? How would any of us know? What could we do to help you? You would end up dead or dying with no one having any idea what has happened or where you are. That is something that I cannot and will not accept."_

_Harry grinned at her._

_Daphne noted the grin and snapped at him again. "And what is that foolish grin for, Potter?"_

"_Daphne, you know how much I care for you, and I know that I have a reputation for running off foolishly without being fully prepared."_

"_You can say that again," added Astoria with a smirk._

_Harry turned to the younger Greengrass sister, "But what about when we went for the chimera? Was that unprepared? Was that without support?" Then he turned back to face Daphne. "I would like to think I have gained some wisdom after all of these adventures and that I am not nearly as foolish as I may have been back in school."_

"_I should hope not," interjected Isabella Greengrass, who was listening intently to the current discussion._

_Harry nodded in acknowledgement of her sentiments, "Your comments are understood, Lady Greengrass, but I will have some protection beyond what we have acquired on our recent travels."_

_Daphne raised a doubtful eyebrow at his comment. "And what exactly would that be?"_

"_The goblins have provided me with a special emergency port key that would transport me to safety if something were to happen, and it would also make sure that any of my possessions were safely returned as well. Besides, what could go wrong? We have prepared for this, and with knowing that once I complete this final task I will be free of any further obligations to the goblins, and we can truly begin our lives together as our own, without having to feel that we owe something to anyone else. I will be free to do what I want. We will be free to do what we want, together."_

_Daphne leaned over and gave Harry a tight hug. Meanwhile, Jonathan Greengrass just observed the entire interaction and conversation and internally hoped that the bad feeling he had about all of this was just indigestion. Although, he was pretty sure it was not indigestion._

_After they finished dinner, Harry and Daphne excused themselves, explaining that they had further plans for the evening to meet up with Hagrid, the game keeper at Hogwarts. Shortly after this they were meeting with Hagrid at his hut and he then lead them over to the edge of the forest. The sun was setting and the shadows in the forest were growing darker. Daphne was feeling tentative about venturing into the forest all on her own. Harry sensed her uneasiness and gently squeezed her hand in his as they stood by the edge of the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. Hagrid, however, was busy peering into the woods at various openings into the dense underbrush._

_Speaking quietly, for a half giant, Hagrid called over to Harry, "I think I might hear some rustling in the woods a little over that way," and he pointed off to his left. "Now, Daphne, if you just start to walk along the edge of the forest there, and ye need to start hummin' a little tune, and we'll see if you can draw out a unicorn."_

"_What if her humming attracts something else?" asked a worried Harry._

"_I wouldn't worry too much 'bout that now, 'arry," answered Hagrid, "I went to speak with the spiders, and even though Arogog is no longer their leader, they at least agreed to stay away from this side of the forest, if jus' for t'night."_

_Daphne felt slightly reassured. Harry leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and he whispered into her ear, "I'll be nearby, I'll be sure to keep you safe. Don't worry about a thing."_

_Daphne squeezed Harry's hand once more before she started to walk away to the edge of the forest. Then she began to hum an old lullaby, tentatively at first as she felt a little embarrassed. She turned and looked over her shoulder and she could make out Harry keeping an eye on her and she felt more secure and she started to hum a little louder. Then she started to sing an old tune that she remembered her grandmother would sing when she was very little. It was a very sad song, she never really did understand it all, but she had heard her grandmother sing it every night for a year after her grandfather died. Shortly after she began the song, she was startled by the sound of branches rustling in the woods near where she was. The moon was starting to rise and was casting a little more light on the area. In the shadows of the bushes she thought she saw a flash of silver or white. She paused briefly in her singing, and she heard no more noises in the bushes. Realising that she needed to keep singing, she started the song again, and soon she heard the sound of light footsteps on the leaves as the creature approached._

_The large white beast with the shiny spiralled horn stepped out from the bushes to Daphne's left. The silvery glow from the moonlight made the noble creature appear even more majestic. Daphne gasped slightly and the unicorn hesitated once again. Daphne was quicker to restart her singing this time, and the unicorn was soon approaching her and nuzzling up against her side. She continued to sing and slowly reached a hand to brush the silvery mane. The unicorn leaned towards her with its neck and head, enjoying the attention it was receiving from her gentle touch. Then after a minute of her singing she noted that the animal's eyes were starting to water. Slowly she pulled the vial out of the pocket on the inside of her cloak, and then she untwisted the vial. The unicorn startled slightly as she placed the vial under its eye as the tears soon began to flow. After obtaining several tears in the vial she carefully leaned forward and kissed the creature on its horn, and then she began to back away. After a moment she stopped her singing. The unicorn looked up at the now silent young woman, and then it turned and leapt back into the bushes and the woods._

* * *

Royal London Hospital: 10:45 AM (Thursday)

"Where is the bloody neurosurgeon?" barked Dr. McCoy. The nurses in the trauma bay shrugged their shoulders and returned blank expressions as no one had heard when or if the neurosurgeon would be arriving.

"Damn prima donnas," cursed the emergency physician. He turned back to look at the monitor on his patient and he noted that the heart rhythm was now becoming irregular. He then shouted out, "Someone check a pulse on John Doe now!"

One of the nurses moved from where she was standing and reached for the radial pulse on the left arm. "It's irregular and thready," she called back.

"Is the AED hooked up?" he called out.

One of the aides in the room replied that it wasn't available. The doctor muttered more curses under his breath. Then he asked in a loud and clear voice, "Is anyone using the defibrillator right now? If not, get it in here!"

He watched the monitor and he noted the heart rhythm start to accelerate in an irregular pattern. He asked the nurse to check the pulse again. She stated that the pulse was barely palpable.

"Check the femoral pulse," he commanded.

She moved slightly and shook her head. "Nothing,"

"Al right, get me the paddles. Charge to 300 joules, and everybody clear!" The doctor grasped the defibrillator paddles and prepared to shock the patients chest.

"Clear!" he called out. As he bent over the John Doe's chest to place the paddles, all of the sudden two hands reached up and grabbed his wrists, preventing him from making contact with the patient.

"What the?" exclaimed the doctor.

* * *

_{Monday evening...}_

_Harry and Daphne returned to the Potter Manor and there they worked on the final preparations. Harry had reviewed the notes he made from Merlin's writings on how to prepare the mixture. The mixture was to be used on the griffon hide and then marked in specific runic patterns on the individual's chest prior to attempting to approach the dragon. _

_Harry placed the mixture into another vial after preparing the griffon hide cloak. Daphne reviewed the runes with him that he would need to apply to his chest._

"_Lets get some rest now," said Harry with a sigh. _

_Daphne walked up to him and gave him a big hug and then stood very close to him as she asked, "Would you like me to spend the night with you?"_

_Harry flushed with the closeness of her body and the thoughts of what a night actually in bed with this gorgeous woman would be like. "You know I dream of spending the nights with you, and I look forward to doing so soon," he said with all the seriousness in his soul, "but I would really want to wait until this is all done, and we can come together as husband and wife. Maybe I'm just a little old fashioned in my thinking."_

_Daphne took a step back. Her mouth was agape._

_Harry looked at her, and he was at first slightly confused, and then it dawned on him just what he had said and why she was reacting this way. Harry tried to speak, but he initially merely mumbled. This drew a confused expression on Daphne's face. Harry then bowed his head slightly in front of her, then he reached into his pocket and then looked up into his girlfriend's eyes. "Um, Daphne," he said trying not to choke up on his words, "I think I need to rephrase something that I just said."_

_Daphne now wrinkled her brow and was confused by what he was about to say. She thought he had actually stated he wanted to marry her, and now she was worried he was going to take back what he had said. Then Harry knelt down on one knee, looked her in the eyes and took her right hand in his. "Daphne Greengrass, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"_

_Daphne gasped, and covered her mouth with her left hand as Harry had not released her right hand. She leaned forward and hugged him around his neck. "Of course I would!" she exclaimed. _

_Harry then turned over his left hand which had been holding a small box which he had pulled out of his pocket just before he had knelt down. He opened the box and produced a ring of white gold with a large diamond in the centre and a small ruby and a small emerald on either side. Daphne gasped again when she looked at the ring._

"_Harry, where did you…" she began to ask but she was cut off._

"_This is for you, it is for us," he said with a wide grin as he slipped it on her finger. _

_She looked at the ring again and marvelled at its beauty. "Gryffindor and Slytherin, both on the ring?" she asked._

"_Of course," he replied, "united with a perfect diamond. The goblins made it for me to give to you." He hesitated for a moment as they both stared at the ring as the light reflected off the many facets of the three stones. "It has several protections on it, to protect you from almost any danger, and it will be set to be able to be used as an emergency port key." Harry stood up and embraced his fiancé in a tight hug. _

_Daphne was crying as she hugged him back. She looked up into his eyes now that he was standing, and then she asked, "But why now, why tonight?"_

_Harry grimaced slightly and then smiled at her. "I wanted to make it clear to you just what I wanted before I went to finish this task. I know you wanted to come with me and I know you were upset when I told you that you couldn't come, so I wanted to make sure you knew just how much I love you."_

"_But what if something happens?" she asked, brushing the tears off of her cheeks. "What if you don't come back?"_

"_Hear this now, I will always come for you," stated Harry without hesitation._

_Daphne wrinkled her brow, "But how can you be sure?" she asked._

"_This is true love, do you think this happens every day?" he said. There was a moment of silence, and then Harry started to laugh._

_Daphne looked at him with frustration, "Just what is so funny?" she demanded._

"_I am so sorry," he answered with a laugh, "but we actually just quoted 'The Princess Bride.' It's a muggle movie." Harry noted a blank expression on Daphne's face. "Have you never seen a movie?" _

_Daphne's expression told him that she had no idea what he talking about. Harry grinned, "Well, think of it as a picture, where the people are waving at you, but instead of just watching one scene, there is a whole story, a whole series of scenes, and there is talking and everything, like watching a book played out in front of you."_

"_I know what a movie is, you prat," she said. "I just never heard of that one."_

"_Oh," Harry replied sheepishly. "Well, anyway, what we have, it is true love, and nothing will keep us apart." Daphne started to protest, but Harry silenced her with placing a finger on her lips. "No, nothing will keep us apart."_

* * *

Royal London Hospital: 10:50 AM (Thursday)

"Sir, you need to sit down," ordered the doctor, staring into the eyes of the patient who had suddenly woken up and grabbed his arms as he was about to defibrillate him. "Please," implored Dr. McCoy, "you have been seriously injured, you have suffered serious multiple trauma. In fact you nearly died just now. Please, lie back down on the bed."

John Doe just stared at the doctor and he did not let go of the arms that were holding the defibrillator paddles. The piercing green eyes bored into the man. Finally, with a hoarse voice the mysterious patient spoke. "Bloody hell! You were about to use those on me?"

The doctor turned and nodded to a nurse who turned off the defibrillator. Then he turned back to his patient. "Sir, what ever your name is, please lie back down on the bed. You have a skull fracture and a subdural hematoma. You have multiple internal injuries and you broke your leg. Not to mention you have a compound fracture of your right arm."

Dr. McCoy and the patient both looked at the right arm that was holding the doctor away, as he had not let go of the doctors wrists despite the doctor handing off the paddles. John Doe stared at an area on his arm wrapped with bandages and a splint. He then looked back at the doctor. "Funny, I've had a broken arm before, and this doesn't feel that bad."

Then the green eyes flashed in anger as he turned back to the doctor. "Hold on a minute, where the bloody hell am I?"

The doctor gaped at the response from this patient who was near death just minutes before. "This is the Royal London Hospital Trauma Centre. Where did you think you were, young man?"

John Doe looked around the room at all of the staff who were staring wide-eyed at him. "Bloody hell!" he screamed. "How the fuck did I end up here? I'm not even at St. Mungo's."

The doctor tried to gather more information about his patient. "Sir, do you have any idea how you came here to our hospital? Do you remember anything about how you were injured? And could you please tell us your name? Who are you?"

"Harry," said the patient simply, "I'm Harry, and I really need to be somewhere else."

Dr. McCoy stepped forward. "You suffered major trauma and multiple injuries. I have no idea how you seem to be recovering so well, but we still need to do more tests and you need more treatment for your injuries."

Harry gently pushed the doctor away. "Bloody hell, she is going to kill me when she finds me."

"Who is going to kill you?" asked the doctor. "Is this _she_ you mentioned, is this the person who did this to you?"

Harry looked up at the doctor. Then he laughed slightly. "No, she did not do this at all. But when _she_ finds out what happened, she just might kill me."

One of the nurses stepped up next to the physician. "Could you tell us exactly what happened, please."

Harry looked at the nurse and gave her a crooked smile. "No, because you wouldn't believe me if I did."

* * *

_{Tuesday morning...}_

_Harry awoke early the next morning. He went down stairs to find that Daphne was already downstairs and waiting on him to join her for breakfast. He gave her a puzzled look. Daphne walked over to him and gave him a hard kiss on his lips. "Goof morning, love," she said in greeting as she pulled away. "I know you're off to finish the quest today and I know it might be several days before you actually find one of those dragons, so I wanted to wish you well. I came back over first thing this morning."_

_Harry just looked at her wonderful smile and her glowing expression. He knew he wanted to finish his task as quickly as possible so he could return to begin the rest of his life with this precious woman. Soon they had finished their breakfast together. Harry had already prepared the things he felt he would need to take with him to capture the dragon. _

"_You're sure you don't want me to come with you?" Daphne asked once more._

"_I already explained this to you," answered Harry. "I am the one who needs to do this, and I am the one with the protections, I can't guarantee your safety if you were there."_

_Daphne leaned in and nuzzled against Harry's neck and the side of his face. "I'll miss you, and you better come back safely from this," she said._

_Harry kissed her gently on top of her head. "Of course, and I have everything to come back for now," he added._

_Later that morning Harry was on his way. He had arranged to use international floo travel to get to Romania, where the dragon preserve was located that Charlie Weasley worked at. Harry figured he should avoid any Weasley just so as not to complicate the task ahead of him, and he had already mapped out his travel plans to the Ukraine. He would have to head to the northeast, and up into the Carpathian Mountains, the natural habitat for the Ukrainian Iron Belly Dragons. His broom would be his main form of transportation after leaving the Romanian Dragon Preserve and he quickly cast warming charms and he made sure he had prepared several snacks and meals he placed in the small backpack he wore underneath his travelling cloak. He had his griffon hide cloak and his invisibility cloak in a special compartment within the back pack. He kept the thunderbird feather attached to the cord around his neck, and he had the special serum made from the chimera venom and the unicorn tears ready to mark with the runes when he reached the area where he would make camp and then begin his search for the dragons._

* * *

Royal London Hospital: 10:55 AM (Thursday)

The hospital staff in trauma bay three were completely stunned by the sight in front of them. Their patient, who was severely injured and about to go into cardiac arrest, had woken up and was now speaking with the emergency room physician. The doctor was trying to get the patient to lie back down on the stretcher so they could re-examine him, when there was a loud commotion outside the bay. The patient, who had recently identified himself as "Harry" was not being very compliant with the requests of the staff. When he heard shouting from the other side of the emergency department he looked at the physician. "Do yourselves a big favour," he said calmly, "if that ruckus out there is being caused by a very beautiful blonde woman by the name of Daphne, just let her back in here now."

Dr. McCoy gave him a puzzled look.

Harry then added, "Look, I'll promise to stay right here while you go check it out. If it is who I think it is, it's best just to bring her back here now."

One of the nurses gave him a questioning look. "Who is this Daphne, even if it is her who is out there?"

"Just my fiancé," Harry replied.

* * *

Gringotts Bank, London, 9:30 AM (Thursday)

A very worried goblin was knocking on the door to Ragnok's office. Ragnok was very busy and was in no mood to be disturbed. He grunted as he gave leave for the goblin to enter.

"And just what is so important that you have chosen this moment to disturb me?" demanded the goblin chief.

The goblin entered with his head bowed and his hands open in front of him. "Please excuse this intrusion, but there came an urged message from the overseers of the deep vaults."

Ragnok raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, and started to show his teeth in a sneer.

The goblin messenger continued. "It seems that several items have just appeared within the newest Potter Vault. The vault that was just created last week."

Ragnok jumped up from his seat behind his desk and slammed close the ledger he had been working on. "To quote the human wizards, 'bloody hell.' Where is Potter?"

"We already sent a message to St. Mungo's, they have not had any new patients show up in the past four hours."

Ragnok snarled loudly and the messenger tumbled at the fierce sound that echoed down the halls of the bank. "Find out where Potter ended up! Get me a post owl, the fastest owl we have, and bring me the goblin who made the emergency port key for Mr. Potter, and I want it done an hour ago!"

The messenger bowed his head and backed out of the office. A minute later another messenger had arrived in Ragnok's office with a large eagle-owl. Ragnok handed him the brief note that he had quickly scrawled on a piece of parchment. "Have this delivered to Lady Daphne Greengrass, the parchment has a port key that will bring her here to my office." The new messenger took the note and attached it to the eagle-owl's leg. Then he too backed out of the office.

Once he was alone, Ragnok let loose a series of curses in the ancient goblin language.

* * *

Royal London Hospital: 11 AM (Thursday)

Dr. McCoy was having one of his worst days ever as an emergency room physician. In the middle of a busy morning, he had a John Doe appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and with severe injuries. He was having difficulty getting the various specialists for the trauma team to show up and help out, and then the patient started to crash, only to wake up as he was about to be defibrillated. And now he was having to go deal with a commotion in the lobby of the emergency room which this John Doe, or 'Harry', claimed might be his fiancé.

"This would make for one hell of a domestic dispute," he said to himself as he approached the lobby. Sure enough, there was a very beautiful blonde woman with strikingly blue eyes, and she definitely was angry. He walked forward to where she was arguing with one of the receptionists who seemed terrified but nonetheless was holding her ground.

"You cannot go back there, miss," insisted the receptionist. Dr. McCoy stepped forward and finding the most pleasant sounding voice he could muster he then spoke to the very obviously irate blonde.

"Are you Daphne?" he asked.

Her blue eyes focused on him with an intensity he had never experienced. "So, Harry is here?" she demanded. "Where is he? How is he? And just why is here at _this_ hospital?"

Dr. McCoy winced at the last question. "Harry is here, and I will bring you to him." Then he paused as he asked her what he knew might be a dangerous question. "And just what is wrong with the Royal London Hospital? It is well published that we have one of the best trauma services in the entire country." He then started to lead her back to the trauma bay, through the secured doors separating the lobby from the treatment area. He had not really expected an answer from this woman, but he did tend to get a bit defensive about his work place. He noted that she was looking everywhere, as though she was trying to absorb everything she was seeing as she was following him to the patient area.

"I must want you miss, Daphne," the doctor added, "Harry has been through quite a lot. However, I am not sure exactly what happened to him, could you possibly shed some light on that subject for me?"

Daphne stopped in her tracks and stared at the physician. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," was all she had to say in response to his question. "And you still haven't answered my question, how is he?" she demanded again.

"He is doing better," answered Dr. McCoy, "I think. Well, he has many injuries, and some of them are quite severe, but he started to stabilise shortly before you arrived."

Daphne gave him a quizzical look and then proceeded to follow him towards the trauma rooms. She noted that he pointed her towards an area that was cordoned off with a curtain and that there was a number 3 on a glowing sign above the curtain. She walked up to the curtain and pushed it aside. Green eyes met blue eyes, and tears began to well up in both of them.

She ran up to embrace him in a hug. Harry winced in pain.

"What's wrong?" asked Daphne. "Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere," he deadpanned. "Apparently I have a skull fracture, with bleeding around my brain, a broken right arm, a broken left leg, a ruptured spleen, a lacerated liver, not to mention all of the bruises and scrapes. And then they said my heart nearly stopped, but I didn't let them use the defibrillator on me."

Daphne inspected him from head to toe. "Funny, you don't look to bad for having fought a dragon, and obviously losing."

Harry looked at her and felt ashamed that it was clear that he had failed. "So, how did you find me?" he asked.

"Ragnok sent for me," she said, trying to hold back more tears that were welling up in her eyes. "The special equipment he gave you did part of what it was supposed to do. Your things appeared at the vault. That is how they knew there was a problem. But you didn't appear at St. Mungo's for some reason."

The two were trying to be very careful with their words as they knew they were in the presence of muggles. Harry reached up and pulled the monitor leads off of his chest. "Perhaps that is where I really should be," he suggested. He was about to say something more when one of the nurses stepped up right next to him, and Harry felt as though his personal space was being invaded. "Can I help you?" he asked the nurse.

"My name is Amanda," she said quietly, "and you must be Harry Potter."

Daphne and Harry stared at her, both surprised at her comments.

"My sister is a muggle-born," added Amanda, "I'm just a plain muggle. I heard all about you-know-who and the news of your battle with him. I figured only a powerful magical person like yourself could pull through what you've been through. I thought I recognised the scar on your forehead from the stories my sister told me."

"Well, yeah," Harry answered, "I am Harry Potter." Then he added, "And this is my fiancé, Daphne Greengrass."

Amanda quietly muttered, "I can't wait until I can tell my sister that I actually met the great Harry Potter."

Daphne looked at the young nurse and then back at Harry. Harry was blushing at this comment. Then Daphne turned to look at the nurse as she asked her a question. "So, how do you suppose we get out of here to get Harry over to St. Mungo's?"

Amanda thought for a moment and then she leaned in a whispered to the couple. Harry blushed for a moment, and Daphne took a step back. Then after a moment Harry announced, "Is there any way a bloke can relieve himself without having an audience?"

Amanda spoke up, "I'll go get you a urinal, and everyone else can step out of the room." She gave a wink to Daphne as she left. Soon all of the other hospital staff had left the trauma bay after closing the curtain behind them.

Dr. McCoy looked at everyone as they left trauma bay 3, and wondered what was happening as he had stepped out to quickly review the chart of another patient. He moved quickly to find out what was happening with his John Doe, or Harry Potter, or whatever his name was. He pulled the curtain back to find no one left in the trauma bay.

* * *

(Thursday afternoon)

Harry was irritated with having to be examined repeatedly. The healer at St. Mungo's had finished her exam and shook her head. "It seems that your magical core took quite a shock, but it seems to be rebuilding rather quickly. Although," she added, "I've never seen anyone with a magical core this strong before." She looked up at Harry and sighed. "Apparently I should have suspected this."

Daphne was biting her lip as she waited on the report from the healer. "But what about his injuries? The staff at the muggle hospital claimed he had lots of injuries."

The healer nodded, "Apparently he did. However, I have never seen spontaneous healing like this before." She removed the remaining splints and bandages from Harry's various body parts that were treated or stabilised at the Royal London Hospital. She then examined his right forearm. "That scar from the broken bones that were protruding may take a little while to heal, but the arm should be as good as new within a couple of days. However, I would recommend no heavy lifting for the next week. Your leg should be good enough to walk on in a couple of hours. And again, I wouldn't do any running or lifting for at least a week. Your internal organs all seem to be doing fine. The head injury is perhaps the most surprising. Muggle medicine would have recommended surgery to drain the blood clot you had around the brain. We can't even find any evidence of your having been injured there." She looked at Harry, "And you are sure that they used the words subdural hematoma?"

It was only a couple of hours before Harry was cleared to leave with Daphne. He had made it quite clear that he did not want any publicity about any of his injuries, and he assured the healer that he would take it easy at his home. Daphne also reassured the healer that she would do everything possible to keep him in line while he recuperated.

After the ordeal of the muggle and magical hospital visits, Harry was grateful to finally arrive back at his own home. Immediately upon stepping through the floo with Daphne supporting him, he took a couple of steps and sat down on one of the sofas in his sitting room. Daphne called for the house elves and quickly explained that Harry was to be taking it easy for the next week. She then requested that they prepare a meal and bring it to them here in the sitting room and she explained that Harry would probably be staying in this room for some time.

Once the house elves were busy seeing to the requests that Daphne had made, she sat down next to Harry and took his hand in hers. "Now, Mr. Potter," she said with a smile, "just what the bloody hell happened?"

Harry let out a long breath, and then he began the tale of what had happened earlier…

_{Wednesday}_

_Harry had arrived in the Carpathian Mountains in the Ukraine. He had researched where the few wild Ukrainian Iron Bellies would be found. He set up a camp in a clearing on the far side of the mountain from where he would begin his search the next morning. When dawn broke, {Thursday morning} Harry was already awake and finishing the breakfast he had made and he was preparing the runes on his chest. He applied the serum to his skin just as Daphne had him practice at home using pumpkin juice repeatedly until she was sure that he would do it right. Harry placed all of his belongings into the back pack, except those he would be using. The feather was still around his neck and he had confirmed that before putting the griffon hide cloak over his shoulders. He then shrunk the back pack and placed it in a pocket within the cloak. Finally, when he was sure he was ready, he stood over his broom and kicked off into the air. _

_Harry soared up high over the trees, and then he recalled that Daphne had warned him to stay closer to the trees, as that would give the dragons less of a chance to see him. Harry swooped down and flew just over the tree tops and then he alit on a rock outcropping not far from the mountain top. He paused as he sensed which direction the wind was coming from, and he was glad that it was not from his back. He took a moment to scan the mountain side in front of him, and decided to head down into the valley. He noted that the terrain remained quite rocky in that area, which he knew would be an area that the Ukrainian dragons would prefer. Harry briefly hoped he would be able to find a younger dragon than the one they had set free from Gringotts, as he really did not one to have to face one that was that big._

_Harry flew for several hundred yards and then he alit on another rocky area. He decided to wait there for a few minutes and see if he could find evidence of any dragons. He spent the next couple of hours making short flights, landing in rocky areas, searching for evidence of the dragons that were supposed to be nesting in the area. Finally after rounding the fourth mountain that he was exploring, he thought he heard the sound of a large animal up ahead in a clearing. Harry steadied himself as he thought about all of the preparations he had made leading up to this. He shrunk his broom and placed it in the pocket with his already shrunken back pack. He slowly walked towards the clearing, and then he noted that there was a large grey-white animal on the far side of the clearing. Harry relaxed slightly as it was not nearly as large as the Hungarian Horntail that he had faced during the try-wizard tournament. He had his wand out in his hand and he walked stealthily along the edge f the clearing. He stopped briefly to cast a silencing charm on his feet, and then proceeded to make his approach. He ran the various spells through his mind that he would use in an attempt to subdue the dragon. He was within fifty feet of the creature and he estimated that it was at least thirty feet from head to tail. Over ten feet of the length of the dragon was the tail itself. _

_Harry took a deep breath and tried to relax himself and then he started to move closer again. Suddenly the large beast turned quickly and lunged at Harry with a quick snap of his jaws. Harry had cast a shield spell and the dragon's snout bounced harmlessly away from him. Harry jumped back and prepared to fire a spell when he heard a voice in his head. _

"_What are you doing little human?" spoke what Harry quickly realised was the dragon in front of him._

_Harry started to speak out loud in response, and he soon had to duck from a slashing of the long tail as the dragon whipped it around at him. Harry jumped out of the way and rolled into a crouch. He hissed in frustration. _

"_What did you say, little man?" asked the dragon, with obvious anger in its voice. Harry realised that the words reminded him of when he heard the basilisk in the walls at Hogwarts. He then tried to reply in parseltongue. "I mean you no harm," he hissed back._

"_So you say, but you come sneaking around, and your thoughts betray you," growled the dragon._

_The dragon then lunged again with its jaws and Harry rolled away once more. The dragon reared up and spewed fire into the air. _

"_You mean to capture me?" laughed the dragon. He then sent a column of flame at Harry, who was protected by the cloak and the feather. Harry had not had time to move out of the way and he was relieved that the protections he had obtained actually did what they were supposed to do._

_Harry stepped back, and the dragon was now incensed that the puny human in front of him was unscathed. The dragon's anger turned to fury. The dragon then began to charge at Harry. Harry was not expecting the creature to run at him and he barely had time to dive out of the way. He rolled to his left, but as he was about to get out of his crouch, the dragon swiped at him with its tail which sent him crashing into a boulder, hitting it on his left side. The pain he felt was excruciating, and Harry wondered if he broke a rib, or if he had some sort of internal injury. Slowly he pushed himself off of the rock, only to feel his back being grabbed by large talons. He could feel his skin being scraped by the sharp claw, and then he felt himself being thrown through the air, crashing into another large rock. Harry was dazed as his head had hit first. He pushed himself up off of the ground and he tried to move quickly to duck behind the rock for protection. However, he was not moving fast enough. The dragon had flown into the air, and swooped low and once again grabbed Harry with it's talons. Harry could feel himself being lifted into the air, and he was feeling dizzy. Then he noted that he felt that the dragon was diving towards the ground…._

Harry was nearly in tears as he finished recounting to Daphne all that he could remember. He told her that he could not remember what happened next, that everything went black and it hurt to just try and think about what more the dragon did to him after that. He was sure that he must have lost consciousness at that time.

Daphne noted that Harry was in tears as he recalled the events of that morning.

Harry wiped his eyes and squeezed Daphne's hand. After lying still in silence, staring at the ceiling, he finally spoke. "I must have missed something in Merlin's writings. I'll have to go back to Pembroke College, to the Hall of Secrets."

Daphne leaned over and enveloped him in a hug. "Of course you will." Then she added, "But not before you finish recuperating here."

* * *

**AN: A long chapter, and it was set up differently than most of my chapters….hopefully you all enjoyed it. No, Harry is not giving up. Yes, he obviously needs to do something more. **


	16. Chapter 16

_**AN: Yes, it has been quite a while for this update. My apologies for the delay, but life the universe and everything can sneak up on you. Yes, the story does continue. Some of the questions asked in reviews may be answered soon, but there will still be more questions. I hope you all enjoy the latest developments and plot twists. **_

* * *

Harry was walking across the campus, using a cane to help him as his leg was still having a fair amount of pain. He wondered why there was still the pain as his body had begun magically healing his injuries before he even regained consciousness. On top of that, he had been convalescing at his manor for a couple of weeks. The pain in his leg made little sense to him, other than to serve as a constant reminder about his defeat at the hands of the dragon. He had been convinced that he must have missed something at the Hall of Secrets. He had been debating what he should do next, and Daphne had quietly been encouraging him to return to review the writings of Merlin. In fact, she had made it clear that she would drag him there if she had to.

Harry thought back on the previous two weeks. His house elves would have cared for him completely, but Daphne had insisted on helping to take care of him as well. His mood was sullen. It came to the point that Daphne commented that he seemed to be even moodier than he had been during their fifth year at Hogwarts. This surprised Harry, as he didn't think that she had really noticed him that much when they were in school. Daphne laughed at him as she explained that the whole school knew he was in a foul mood for most of the year. Even the students in Slytherin could tell something was going on with Harry that year.

Harry's attention was brought back to his walk across the campus at Pembroke College. Daphne was walking beside him as he refused any assistance other than using the cane. She also had a shoulder bag with her, in which she was carrying the griffon hide cloak and the small vial that had the remaining mixture of the chimera venom and the unicorn tears. Harry still wore the thunderbird feather around his neck, although he had to retrieve those items as well as his wand and his other magical possessions from the vault at Gringotts where they were transported to at the same time that he had appeared at the Royal London Hospital. The goblins were still investigating how Harry had appeared at the muggle hospital as opposed to St. Mungo's, and they had not yet told Harry if they had even determined what had caused that to happen. However, Harry was not waiting at home for Ragnok to explain what had happened. He wasn't going to wait at home anymore. He felt that he was so close to gaining his freedom from the goblins, he was not about to give up now. He was determined to proceed.

The door to Professor Shaw's office was open slightly. Harry ignored the notice on the door that indicated that the professor would only see students and others by appointment, and he rapped the door frame with the end of his cane before he gently pushed the door aside. Gregory Bradford Shaw was not a man who enjoyed being interrupted, however he suppressed his initial reaction to chastise whomever had entered his office when he noted the young man in front of him.

"So, you wondered if you would ever see me again, didn't you?" asked Harry rhetorically. He then continued before the professor could respond. "Your door was open slightly, so I decided to take the liberty of letting myself in."

The professor's mouth closed, and started to open again as a gorgeous young blonde woman entered the office behind Harry.

"Oh, how shameful of me," commented Harry. "Allow me to introduce to you my fiancé, the Lady Daphne Greengrass." Harry grinned from ear to ear as he announced her as his fiancé.

Daphne stepped forward and offered her hand in greeting. "I am so sorry that we are intruding," she apologised.

Greg Shaw stood up and gently shook the offered hand. "No, this is a surprise, that is all, not an inconvenience. Professor Smith and I have not had as much opportunity to explore the vast wealth of information and knowledge held within the Hall during your time away as either one of us would like." He then waved his hand towards the chairs to his side. "Please, have a seat, and tell me all about what has happened. I am sure that Professor Smith would love to hear your tales." Shaw hesitated for a moment as he looked back and forth between the two young people who had just entered his office. "Unless, that is, you have already told him about what has happened in your mission."

Harry dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. "No, we have not spoken to him yet of what we have done," explained Harry. "Much of what I read and studied was informative and helpful, but ultimately my main goal is still out of my reach." Harry briefly looked at the cane in his hand and then turned to face the professor. "I fear that I may have overlooked something in all of my previous preparation, so I need to enter the Hall of Secrets and see if I can find where I may have either made a mistake or possibly missed something vital that would have otherwise ensured my success."

Daphne gently squeezed Harry's hand as he spoke. He turned to face his fiancé and gave her a quick smile before returning his attention to the Old English professor. The professor raised an eyebrow at Harry's admission of defeat so far in his task. He looked from Harry to Daphne and back again. Then he stood up from his seat as he commented, "Well, I suppose then we should let you into the Hall." He looked again at Daphne, "And I suppose you will be joining the young man."

Daphne nodded, "Of course, why else would I be here?"

With that, the three of them headed towards the back wall of the office where the portrait of Tolkien was hanging, and then Harry quickly cast the spell that would open the door to the Hall of Secrets. Daphne had been expecting this as Harry had explained to her how they had entered the Hall before when he was doing his previous research. Harry lead the way into the room, but Professor Shaw politely declined. "I have my classes to prepare for right now, although I am sure I will be making use of the Hall soon. Professor Smith has been most helpful at times with allowing me entrance into the room."

With a silent nod of understanding, Harry then turned towards the door and took Daphne by the hand as they stepped into the room. Very little had changed from the last time Harry had entered the library like chamber. There was a large table in the centre of the room with the myriads of bookshelves surrounding them. As they approached the main table in the middle of the room, the door through which they had entered magically closed. Harry was not concerned as this had happened on each of his previous forays into the room.

Daphne looked at Harry and then asked, "So now what do we do? Do you have any idea where to start?"

Harry let out a slight sigh and then looked around. "I think we start with the tome in which I found most of the information for the previous tasks." As he said this, a large book with a silver binding came floating from the shelves and landed on the table in front of them.

Harry silently watched the book approach. Daphne glanced at the book and then at Harry and noted the stunned expression on his face. "I take it that this has not happened on your previous trips to this room," she stated, and she was sure she knew the truth to her comments.

Harry continued to stare at the book as it rested in the middle of the table. "No, it most certainly did not."

Then the two of them stepped closer to the table. Daphne noted there was a rune on the cover of the book, that was identical to one of the runes that Harry had traced on his chest for protection from the dragon. She then looked at Harry as she questioned him. "Are you sure the rune was to be drawn on you with the solution made from the venom and the tears? Perhaps this is where the rune was to be marked. On this book."

Harry gave a weak smile. "I was pretty sure that the indication was for the person to be marked with the rune. I had not noticed that the same rune was on the cover of this book." Turning to look back at the large tome, he added, "But this is the one that gave me much of the information about the tasks for controlling the dragon." He then stepped forward and went to open the book, but it remained closed on the table.

Harry was surprised to find that the book which had magically presented itself to them today was resisting being opened. "Great," he said with frustration, "how is this supposed to help us if I can't even use it?"

Daphne scowled at him. "How did you ever get all the information you needed to complete the other tasks if you were such a defeatist?" She looked at the cover of the book and then back at Harry. "Try marking the book with the venom and tears," she suggested.

Harry took the mixture and then he traced the rune on the cover of the book after dipping his finger slightly with the solution. As he finished marking the rune, there appeared a purple glow from the tome itself. Daphne was about to comment about this when there was a sudden flash of white light that emanated from the book.

Harry and Daphne had instinctively moved their hands to cover their eyes. When the pain from the bright flash subsided they both looked up and noted there was a man standing on the other side of the table from them.

There was an eerie silence in the room. Harry and Daphne briefly looked at each other, and then turned their gazes back on the man who had appeared in front of them. The old man reminded Harry of Dumbledore in an odd way. While he had a grey beard and appeared to be quite old, his beard was much shorter than the former headmaster and his robes were a simple blue with a gold trim, not the garish mixture of colours and designs that Dumbledore would wear. Harry noted that the man in front of him seemed a little confused and that he was furtively glancing around the room and then back at Harry and Daphne. After an awkward several moments of silence, the man spoke.

"Would you mind terribly if I sat down," he asked calmly. "This whole experience is a little unsettling."

Harry looked at Daphne again and then faced the old man. "And just what experience are you referring to?" asked Harry.

The man raised an eyebrow at Harry's question and proceeded to ignore it. He turned to Daphne. "Fair damsel, you are a sight to behold, and I must say that to look upon such a visage as yourself upon arriving here, where here is, is a most pleasant undertaking."

Daphne smiled at the man's charm although she was feeling quite a bit uneasy with the situation.

Harry scowled slightly. Then he spoke to the old man, "Excuse me sir, but who are you?"

The man looked at Harry and then at the book on the table in front of him. He laughed at the young man in front of him. "I would have presumed that if someone was actually able to use the tome on this table that they would have the intelligence and wisdom to know the answer to such a ridiculous question." He let out a long sigh, then he took the seat he had commented about and then he continued. "Myrddin Emrys at your service." After a short pause he continued, "However, Arthur and his men would call me Merlin."

Harry stuttered, "But, Merlin, but how? How can it be you?"

The old man gave a small smile at the puzzled young man in front of him. "Why, magic of course. But I think you already knew that." He gave Harry a slight wink and then he stood up and began to walk around the room. He walked over to the closest bookshelf and gently ran his fingers along the bindings of the books. He turned slowly as his eyes seemed to twinkle with excitement as he noted all of the books on the shelves. Then the man headed back to the table and reached his hand out for the tome that was still on the middle of the table. As he reached his hand out to grasp the book, his hand went through the book and the pages within. This also caused him to raise an eyebrow as he pulled his hand back and stared at his finger tips. He then leaned forward and tapped his fingers on the table.

"Most peculiar," he said quietly as he reached out again for the tome and his fingers once more simply passed through the book. He gazed at his hand and then he looked up at Harry and Daphne and then spoke to them. "It is a most unusual circumstance in which I find myself, most unusual indeed." He smiled slightly at the young couple in front of him. "I must surmise than that my work on imbedding my spirit, or part of it, into this tome actually worked."

"Why would you do that?" asked Daphne who was feeling this whole scene was a little too surreal.

Merlin raised an eyebrow and then answered, "Why indeed? I do believe that I was working on a way to be able to share my secrets about magic."

Harry smiled back at the apparition of the legendary wizard in front of him. "I have been studying many of your writings, or at least the ones which I could decipher."

Merlin turned to face Harry. "Well, then, my young man, perhaps you could share with me just what you had been studying and what you have done to bring me here." He waved his hand through the table in front of him, and continued with a sigh, "Or at least why I am partially here."

Harry then began to explain how he had been researching how to control a dragon by studying Merlin's writings. He told of the adventures of obtaining the griffon hide, the thunderbird feather, the chimera venom and the unicorn tears. Before Harry could continue, Merlin raised a hand to stop him.

"My young friend," he said with a broad smile, "you actually accomplished all of that?" Then he paused slightly, but he continued before Harry had a chance to say anything further. "Of course, of course. The combination was the key to opening the secrets within this tome." Merlin's eyes twinkled as he looked at the large book at he centre of the table. Then he looked back at Harry. "I am most impressed. The tasks were set up to make it difficult for anyone to be able to access the secrets within my books. A remarkable young wizard you must be." He turned to Daphne, "And you, fair young lady, I presume you are his consort? You have been assisting him in his endeavours?"

Daphne blushed slightly, still amazed that she was speaking with Merlin Ambrosius. "I have been trying to help him," she answered quietly.

"Splendid, my dear, splendid." He then turned back to Harry. "So, you said you wanted to control a dragon? Most ambitious, yes, but most dangerous. And foolhardy I might add. I recall that controlling a dragon is really not possible. Conversing with a dragon without it trying to make you a light snack, that is more likely to be a success, but not for the average wizard. No, not at all. So, are you close to the answer then? Have you found it?"

Harry furrowed his brow. "I thought the four items and the mixture of the venom and the tears was the protection I needed. I confronted a dragon…" He was cut off by Daphne.

"He nearly died confronting that dragon!" She reached over and squeezed his hand, then spoke to Merlin again. "Harry was sure he had followed your instructions. What did he do wrong?"

Merlin looked back and forth between the young couple in front of him and then he spoke to Harry. "You didn't? You actually went after a dragon? Unarmed?"

Harry was becoming irritated by the comments from this ghost of Merlin. "What do you mean, unarmed? I was prepared, I had the hide and the feather. I have them right hear. I have the mixture, I used it to mark runes on my chest. And I had my wand."

Merlin shook his head and stepped back. He paced back and forth along the length of the table. He repeatedly would look at Harry and then look away, shaking his head, muttering phrases in old English that neither Harry or Daphne could decipher. Harry couldn't take the silence any longer and stood up and cursed at Merlin. "I had everything you wrote that was necessary to master the dragon! I studied those writings for months before I started to obtain the items! And you now tell me I wasn't supposed to go after a dragon?"

Merlin stopped passing and just stared at the young wizard who was screaming at him. He then turned to Daphne and quietly commented, "Is he always this excitable?" He then turned back to Harry, "I would have expected someone who had accomplished those four tasks to be a little more patient and a little more astute. You did apparently figure out the true use of the items. You finally opened my book properly as you have me here at your assistance."

Harry stood in silence, facing the ghostly image in front of him. Then he uttered a meek response. "Excuse me? The four items to control a dragon were just to open this book and bring forth your spirit or image?"

Merlin smiled at him and his eyes twinkled again. Harry's irritation at the situation grew as he considered how Merlin was reminding him of Dumbledore's most irritating behaviours and habits. Twinkling eyes, simple smiles, evasive answers.

"Why don't you settle down and I will try to explain some things which you apparently must have misunderstood with your months of study?" Merlin looked back at the tome on the table and quietly spoke to himself, but his words were easily overheard by both Harry and Daphne. "Odd situation I find myself in, Myrddin, my good man, you really have out done yourself. You actually succeeded in placing our memories within this tome." He reached out with his transparent hand and grasped the tome. This action seemed to startle himself as much as it did the two young people sitting in front of him. "Fascinating, I seem to be gaining more control of my physical abilities as more of my memories are coming back to me." He stared at his hand and the tome and then he shook his head slightly and looked upon the young couple. "Where was I? Oh, that's right, we were about to discuss the purpose of the items."

Harry was about to say something in his frustration, but Daphne who had sensed this reached out and placed her hand on his arm in a gesture for him to stay calm and quiet.

Merlin appraised Harry and Daphne with a raised eyebrow. "So, how long have you two been married? Still in the newlywed stage? Arthur always said that his relationship with his queen got better with each passing year. I never did believe the rumours about her and Lancelot."

Daphne blushed again, and Harry protested, "But we're not married. At least, not yet."

Merlin laughed at Harry. "You sure act like it though. Now, where were we? Yes, the items. Those items were not meant to help you control a dragon. Only a fool would think that they could control a dragon. You might be able to speak with one, to reason with one. You might even get one to refrain from eating you, and possibly even assist you, but no, I doubt you could ever truly control a dragon."

"But the items," protested Harry, "and what was written in the tome. You indicated that these items would give me power over a dragon."

Merlin shook his head. "Obtaining the items was a test. A test to see if you were worthy enough to gain further information." He smiled brightly as he paused. "You see, you needed strength and perseverance and ingenuity and even luck to be able to complete all of the tasks. In addition, the tasks required you to be able to show compassion."

Harry's expression indicated his confusion over this latest comment. Merlin did not miss the reaction. "The chimera, you needed to be able to spare the life of the chimera. Made the challenge a little bit trickier, or at least that was the intention." He then looked over at Daphne. "And purity, which is required for obtaining the unicorn tears."

Merlin turned back to Harry as he took a seat across from the young wizard. "So, my young friend, would you take the time to enlighten me about who you are and what your goal is? What do you plan to do with a dragon? It seems almost odd that one as young as you would be on such an adventure as this. You haven't found a stray sword in a rock somewhere?"

Harry smiled at the last comment. "No sir, no swords in stones anywhere that I know of. I am Harry Potter, a young wizard and I need to pay a debt to some goblins."

"Indebted to goblins, you say? Unpleasant business must be afoot then," commented Merlin casually. He eyed Harry more closely. "I presume there is a story behind the scar," he added. Before Harry could respond, Merlin continued, "It doesn't matter, I don't need to know. But does it inspire fear in your enemies? It looks like it should. Now let's see, Potter….Potter…I don't recall any potters who worked for Arthur." Merlin ran his fingers through his short beard. He looked at the young man in front of him again. "The hair, it reminds me of Sir Gawain's son-in-law. I do not recall his name. Perhaps you are a descendant of Sir Gawain. Is Gawain one of your great grandfathers?"

Harry was a little shocked. "I have no idea, that would have been over a thousand years ago."

Merlin's eyes opened wide. "It's been over a thousand years since Arthur ruled England? Heavens above. There is so much that I must catch up on, but I guess now is not the time for it, is it? Well, my young friend, Harry, you have a debt to pay. Tell me more."

Harry explained about his battle to defeat the dark wizard, Tom Riddle, and how he and his friends had to break into the vault at Gringotts Bank and in escaping had freed a bound dragon.

Merlin sat silently and listened to the story. "Well, my young friend, you do seem to be in a bit of a quandary. You would still be hard pressed to control a dragon so as to force it to stand guard over gold and treasure that belongs to someone else. But what you need to do is to be able to converse with a dragon. Reason with one, which is not an easy task. I remember the warnings that Darius would give me, 'tread softly, speak little and remember that you are tasty and can be swallowed in less than two bites'. He was always one for understatement."

Harry asked timidly, "Who was Darius?"

Merlin seemed to be lost and thought and Harry's question startled him slightly. "Who was Darius? Darius was a friend, or an advisor. He was a large white dragon, from the near the area known as Russia. I don't really recall how he came to be living in England at the time."

"And how were you able to speak with Darius as an advisor?" asked Daphne, whose curiosity prevented her from remaining silent.

"You stated that you wanted to control a dragon, and there is a way to control a dragon, to an extent," explained Merlin. "My friend, Darius, he had found himself to be in a position where some would think he was being controlled. He found himself in a position where certain things were beyond his own control."

"He was a prisoner?" asked Daphne.

"Not truly a prisoner," replied Merlin. "I suppose the situation could have been made to make him feel as though he was a prisoner, but our relationship was a friendly one, and he was free to leave whenever he chose to. Which he eventually did, after Arthur's reign had ended, he did decide to return to his homeland. Dragons can be temperamental, and in their moodiness they can be quite dangerous. I find it best to usually let a dragon have its own way."

Harry thought about Merlin's comments before he responded. "How did you develop a friendly relationship with a dragon? The only times I have encountered a dragon, they were more than eager to devour me. And how does one converse with a dragon?"

Merlin was a little surprised by Harry's question. "Most people could never speak with a dragon. Most people would find that any dragon would be more interested in eating them than speaking with them. Most people do not speak dragon, or parseltongue. If you do not have the ability to speak with snakes or other reptiles, you will not be able to speak with dragons."

"I can speak with snakes," Harry stated simply. "But how did you gain the advantage over others, the advantage where you were not merely a potential snack for a dragon."

"Dragons are no respecter of persons, young Harry," answered Merlin. "There is little that they fear. No matter how powerful of a wizard you are, your magic will have little to no effect on a dragon. In all of recorded history, there is only one man who truly defeated a dragon."

"St. George?" asked Daphne. "I thought those were just stories about him."

"St. George was a very real and a very brave man," said Merlin. "However, George had a weapon that enabled him to defeat the dragon he faced. That weapon, his lance, is a very powerful tool."

Harry and Daphne sat in silence as the contemplated Merlin's statement. Finally Harry spoke up. "Where is this lance?"

"His lance? Or my staff?" replied a smiling Merlin. "Yes, my staff that I used for years was indeed the very weapon that St. George used. It was quite powerful, even more so than any wand I had ever held. You may have seen pictures, or rather icons, of St. George. They show him defeating a dragon. Or a demon. The tales may vary, but there is truth therein. It is the lance he wielded that all dragons fear. It was St. George who they used to fear, but that man is gone, but his lance, that is, or was, the symbol of his power. It is a great and terrible tool, or weapon. It could be used to cause so much harm. Or it could be used for good."

"But where is the lance?" asked Harry, feeling both awe and excitement over the idea of such a weapon or tool.

"Ah, now there's the rub, where is the lance? Where is Ascalon? Where is this dragon's bane? It seems to me, you have another mystery to solve. Another adventure to begin," answered Merlin with a board smile.

"But where do we look? Where is it?" asked Harry impatiently.

"It seems that I have spent over a millennia here in this book. I have no further knowledge of the world outside of this room. I can only share with you what I know. And what I know is that the lance needed to be kept safe. Kept safe from those who would abuse it." Merlin gazed down at the tome in front of him. Then he sombrely rose from the table. He then turned and walked away, through the shelves and books and disappeared.

Harry and Daphne sat in silent shock for a moment. Harry turned to his girlfriend and wordlessly expressed his frustration.

"Well, now we have a new task," she said. "You need to find the lance, Ascalon. Perhaps if you return here with Ascalon, Merlin will be able to explain to you how you can use it to control a dragon. Or at least use it to keep a dragon from making you either its next meal or its newest play toy."

Harry gave a forced smile in response. "Just what I needed, more research. More mysteries."

Daphne grinned back at him. "Let's just go get something to eat and we'll start to figure out the rest after that."

"Now that sounds like a plan," acknowledged Harry.

* * *

Harry and Daphne knew they had their work cut out from them. They would have to learn everything they could about St. George and his lance, Ascalon. The two decided to head to Diagon Alley and see if there were any books at Flourish and Blotts that might be useful. On their way they decided to grab a quick lunch at the Leaky Cauldron.

As Tom brought them their soup and sandwiches that they had ordered, a tall and lanky redheaded young man entered the pub. He immediately recognised Harry and Daphne sitting in a booth in the corner and made his way over to them.

"Oi, mate!" called out Ron. "I hadn't expected to see you here, or actually anywhere for that matter. What brings you two here?" Ron took a seat at the table with Harry and Daphne.

Harry glanced at Daphne to gauge her reaction to Ron's sudden appearance and insistence on joining them. She gave him a subtle nod indicating that she was okay with having Harry's former best mate join them. Noting her response, he turned to speak with the former auror. "I still have more work to do, to take care of my debts," he said simply.

Ron nodded indicating that he was trying to understand. He waved at Tom to bring him some food, and then he turned to Harry. "Any new and exciting places you need to go this time?" he asked.

"We're not sure yet," Harry answered. "We have to do a little research on that, hopefully we'll have a better idea about that soon."

Ron looked at Daphne, and surprised them both as he began to speak pleasantly with her. "So, has the Chosen One been taking you along on plenty of near death experiences yet? Honestly, one would think he has some sort of death wish with all of the trouble we used to get into together."

Daphne smiled genuinely at the red head. "He does have a certain knack for that sort of thing, doesn't he," she responded and then she winked at Harry.

"Hey, it wasn't always my fault back in school," protested Harry. "I never asked for a dark lord to be trying to kill me again and again."

Daphne faced Ron again, "So, what are you up to lately?"

"Not much more than the usual working on inventory for George," he answered, obviously more than a little frustrated with his situation. "But I have been sharing some of my ideas with him on new product lines, so hopefully we may be able to start some new testing soon. I just need to find some more or less willing volunteers."

Harry laughed and quickly added, "Well don't count on us, we'll be leaving in a day or two on our next adventure."

"Hopefully this one is a little less exciting than the last few adventures you've had," quipped Daphne.

"Hey, well, whatever," he said with a jovial smile. "Just keep me up to date, I really don't want us having another fall out again, and I even if I'm not going on these adventures with you anymore, I'd still like to know what Harry Potter is up to."

"Sure thing, Ron," said Harry. "We can let you know once we figure it out." Harry relaxed as he was happy that Ron seemed to be making an effort to be friends again. Harry felt that maybe their last encounter had finally got through to him and it sure seemed that Ron was over his anger at Harry and his current choice of friends.

Tom brought Ron a plate of food, which was quite full and Ron dug into it without even looking at the plate. It occurred to Harry that Ron must eat here often enough that Tom just brings him a large plate of anything. Soon the three had finished their meals, and Harry and Daphne excused themselves as they needed to get started with their newest preparations. Ron finished his meal and walked with them as they headed down Diagon Alley to Flourish and Blotts. Ron waved goodbye as he continued on back to his brother's joke shop.

* * *

Ron stepped into the back room of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The room was dark and he was slightly startled as someone stepped out of the shadows from behind him.

A woman's voice spoke to him sternly. "So, what did you find out? Where are they off to next?"

"I don't know where they are heading to next. They don't even know yet where they need to go." Ron was uneasy with being questioned and shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other.

"Useless," she spat at him.

"I did get Harry to agree to keep me updated," he added.

"You will let me know as soon as you find out anything more." It was clearly a command, not a request.

Silence.

"You will, if you want your reward," she hissed.

"Sure," added Ron finally, "whatever."

"Now there's a good boy," said the woman as she leaned towards him and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "It's always important to make your sister happy." With that she spun away from him and headed out of the room and then she was gone before Ron could figure out of she just slipped out of the store or apparated away.

* * *

**AN: I have done some editing to this chapter since it was first published...hopefully correcting the remaining spelling and grammar mistakes, and making a few improvements in some of the awkward dialogue. Chapter 17 is being worked on, have no fear...**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Sorry for the delay. I have been having this chapter reviewed from multiple sources. Chapter 18 is also with a beta reader. This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but Chapter 18 should be up shortly.**

* * *

Harry sat at his desk in his study at Potter Manor. He had just received an owl from Hermione, who had happily agreed to help with their research on Saint George and his staff. Daphne had come to join him as had sent one of the house elves to let her know that Hermione had written. Daphne greeted her fiancé with a quick kiss. Then Harry opened the letter and he began to read it to her.

_Harry,_

_It was exciting to hear that you are making progress. I was worried when I had heard from Neville about your initial set back and injuries from your encounter with the dragon. Of course I am able to help you in what ever way I can._

_I have searched through the information we have here at the Library of Alexandria. I have been able to confirm several facts from multiple sources. There indeed was a soldier named George, whom the Eastern Orthodox Church refers to as Saint George. There are multiple references to his having fought a dragon or some large reptilian beast. I have also found references to his lance, which was named Ascalon. Historians, both magical and muggle, agree that this lance was a very powerful object. Some writers have commented that it was believed to be embed with magical properties. There are various reports and rumours about what ultimately became of the lance. There are reports that it has been left to the care of a group of followers of Saint George. From what I have been able to determine, these may have been monks at one of the many churches that have been dedicated to his memory._

_From what I have been able to determine, there are thousands of churches that honour Saint George. Narrowing the churches to Eastern Orthodox Churches, as Saint George lived in the fourth century, well before the schism between the Eastern Churches and the western church in Rome, there are still hundreds of churches throughout Europe and the Middle East. Historians agree that he must have been a soldier for the Byzantines or from Palestine, so it may be best to search churches in the areas that are located in areas that historically would have been under Byzantine control._

_I hope all is well with you. Give my best to Daphne. I miss you all, but I am having the most marvellous time here. You wouldn't believe the things I am learning with all of these books at my disposal. Well, best of luck with your continued search. Let me know if there is anything more I can do to help._

_I love you, my dearest friend,_

_Hermione_

Harry finished reading the letter, and looked up at Daphne.

"Well, then," said Daphne, "it looks like we need to narrow down where to look for the lance to one of the churches. That won't be hard. Only a thousand or so churches, that shouldn't take more than ten or twenty years." She sighed as she sat down into Harry's lap.

Harry gave her a gentle hug. He lifted her chin slightly and spoke softly in response. "Well, we will just have to see if Merlin has any more ideas to help us with."

Daphne gave him a brief hug and then gave a slight smile. "How can you be so upbeat about this after everything? We've travelled around the world already, you've faced off against a griffon, a thunderbird, a chimera and a dragon. Now you need to find a magical lance that has been missing or hidden for over 1000 years. You've nearly died multiple times. How can you keep going on with all of this?"

Harry gave a slight laugh. "The past year has been relatively simple. I haven't had a psychotic dark lord coming back from near death and trying to kill me with dozens of twisted and sadistic followers trying to kill me for several years. I'd probably be bored if I wasn't facing life and death challenges every so often."

Daphne's smile turned to a frown. "And when do you think you have had enough of all of this? When you're dead? When will you ever be able to sit back and relax, not worry about someone coming after you to kill you? Not worry about having to face some terrible and dangerous creature that would be pleased with either killing you or eating you."

Harry reached up and gently pushed some of Daphne's hair behind her ear. "My life would not be the same without all of the danger and excitement. But honestly, I could really enjoy some lack of excitement for a while." He smiled at her and leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. "Let's finish this, and then find a nice quiet place, with a beach and plenty of sun, and no one to bother us, and hide away for several years."

Daphne beamed at the green eyed man underneath her and gave him a quick hug.

"But we still need to finish this mess with the lance, and the dragon, and the goblins," continued Harry, "so maybe we should head back to Pembroke and see if there is anything more we can learn from Merlin."

* * *

Harry and Daphne had arrived at Pembroke College and had quickly entered the Hall of Secrets after briefly meeting with Professor Shaw. After he had left them alone in the Hall, Harry pulled out the tome that he had marked with the venom and tears mixture. Shortly after retracing the rune on the cover they noted the shimmering appearance of Merlin.

The grey apparition in front of them looked around the room briefly and then focused on the young couple. "Harry, my young friend," he greeted with a smile and then he turned to Daphne, and took her hand and gently kissed it. "And the fair maiden, Daphne, I am charmed to be with you again, I am sure." He looked back at Harry as he added, "The pun was intended. Now then, what can I do for you this fine day? Have you found Ascalon?"

"Well, actually," stammered Harry in reply, "we still are trying to figure out just where we need to be searching for the lance. We know that it is probably in the possession of one of the groups of his followers, probably at a church that bears his name. But there are thousands of churches named after Saint George."

Merlin considered the comments for a few moments and then he turned and headed back into the stacks of books. He searched through several of the tomes, and then he quickly pulled an old and ragged book off of the shelf. It appeared to Harry that he pulled something out of the book before just as quickly closing it and slipping it back onto the shelf. Merlin returned to the two and then he slid himself into one of the chairs at the table. He indicated with a nod of his head that Harry and Daphne should also take a seat.

Merlin then began to explain more about Saint George. "The young man was not just a great and fearless warrior, but he was known for his compassion and kindness that he showed to all. The Roman church has long taught that he is particularly helpful in interceding for those who venerate him. Constantine the Great even built the first church dedicated to George over the site of his tomb, in Palestine, in Lydda."

Harry looked at Daphne and then back to Merlin. "So you think that is where we should look to find the lance?" he asked hopefully.

Merlin's smile faded slightly as he answered, "It is where the lance was found, at one time." He then paused as he let his words sink in. "It may have well been returned to the same place," he added. "However, I do believe that the monks who are there would be hard pressed to admit that they know of the lance, or allow anyone to just walk off with such a valued relic."

Harry and Daphne both felt their hope in quickly resolving this hunt escape them at the comments from Merlin.

Merlin's eyes began to twinkle again, in a manner that was still particularly unnerving to Harry as it reminded him too much of his former mentor, the late Albus Dumbledore. "Do not be so downcast, my young friend," said Merlin with a mischievous grin. "If someone was to present to the followers of St. George a token that indicated that they had a right to the lance, then that might make all the difference in the world."

Harry did not feel particularly reassured at this time, as he imagined another near impossible quest ahead of him, just to find a token, to help him acquire a lance that was still not located, and then to take this mystical and mythical lance and face a dragon. "Why can't my life ever get any easier?" he asked himself silently.

Merlin replied out loud to Harry's unspoken question. "Perhaps it is getting just a slight bit easier right now," he said as met Harry's startled gaze. Before Harry could respond, Merlin quickly snapped his wrist and tossed a silver coin into the air. Harry reached out and grabbed the coin. Upon catching it, he began to examine it closely with Daphne leaning in to get a closer look as well.

The silver token that Harry now held in his hand was a large coin, about 3 inches across. On one side, it had the picture of a soldier atop a horse, holding a lance while on the back side was a crouching dragon. The word "Pendragon" was written on the side of the coin with the dragon. On the other side of the coin were 8 words, four in Latin, four in Greek: Fortitudo, Δύναμη, Perseverantia, Επιμονή, Ingeniositas, Ευφυία, Misericordia, Ευσπλαχνία.

Harry and Daphne examined the coin closely. Not sure what the words meant, Harry looked up at Merlin. With a wink, Merlin explained the coin. "The words on the coin are written in Latin and Greek. I presume that neither of you ever bothered to learn the classic languages? A pity then. The best translation of the words would be: Strength, Perseverance, Ingenuity and Compassion."

Merlin waited silently for a minute allowing the words to sink in. "The four characteristics, or traits, that were required to complete the first four tasks. Only one who has proven their skills and abilities can with confidence carry this coin. Those who are truly followers of Saint George will understand that this token, this coin, gives you the authority to carry Ascalon."

Harry marvelled at the token in his hand. He then looked up at Daphne and gave her a large grin. He turned to Merlin who smiled back at him. "I think, my young friend, that you are now ready to begin your search for the lance."

* * *

Later that day, Harry and Daphne were enjoying lunch at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade before meeting up with Neville to let him know that they would be leaving soon on the next part of their journey.

While they were finishing their meal, Ron Weasley walked into the popular establishment. He walked up to the bar, ordered a butter beer from Madam Rosmerta. Taking his bottle, he turned around and spied his former best mate and his girlfriend and then walked over and joined them at their table. "Hey mate," greeted Ron, "I never expected to see you here. How's the new quest going?"

"Hi Ron," responded Harry dryly. "We're about to go speak with Neville before we head off to the Holy Land in search of Saint George's lance. It may be in an old monastery somewhere." Daphne gave Harry a slight glare, wondering why he was giving Ron so much information.

Ron, who missed the look from Daphne, smiled back at Harry and raised his bottle. "Here's to a safe and successful trip, mate!" he exclaimed. As he put his bottle down, he commented quietly to Harry, "I'm sticking to butter beer from now on, no more fire whiskey for me. Been doing better at the store, too, George is letting me do more again. If I keep myself out of trouble, he might even give me a promotion."

Harry smiled back at his former best mate. "That sounds great, Ron, really."

Daphne reached over and lightly grasped Harry's hand. "We really do need to be getting going so as not to keep Neville waiting," she said.

"Yeah, right," agreed Harry as he took a quick glance at his watch. "Well, Ron, it was good to see you again. We'll keep in touch, but we need to run."

* * *

"So, Ronald, what did you find out?"

The question startled Ron Weasley had he had not heard anyone enter the store, let alone the stock room where he was working. He turned around to be confronted by a sneer from his sister.

"You were right, Harry told me everything about what he is doing and where he is going," he said simply, trying not to shake with his nervousness. She was his younger sister, but she was still very intimidating. He had no desire to experience her bat-bogey hex, or any of the other nastier spells she had been known to use on people when she was in a leads than pleasant mood. And Ron was sure that Ginny was already in a less than pleasant mood.

"So? What did my Harry tell you?" she asked, a little too sweetly for Ron's comfort.

Ron tried to calm his nerves and hoped he didn't start to sweat too much. He mumbled slightly and then he stammered as he answered his sister. "He said something about holly land I think."

"Holly Land?" she questioned. "That makes no sense. Did he say Hollywood?"

"Erm, yeah, that might have been it," he answered quickly. He never was good at paying attention in his classes and he was definitely not very good at remembering details about a conversation when he knew his sister would be grilling him on it — just as she was right now. His anxiety over the whole situation made it increasingly difficult for him to recall the facts clearly. "He also mentioned about having to see someone named George. And something about a place or name that began with L. It seemed like it was a big deal. Something about magic, and dragons, and a stick of some sort."

Ginny thought for a moment. "If Harry was going to Hollywood, he might be trying to meet up with George Lucas, he's near Hollywood, and one of his companies is called Industrial Light and Magic. And his movies have people using magical light swords or sticks. That could be it." She smiled to herself and then she looked at her brother and actually gave him a sly smile. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thanks Ronald," she said as she smirked, "you have been oh so helpful."

* * *

Harry and Daphne had arrived in Palestine. They had found that there were some increased restrictions on their travel through the international travel ports, something to do with a muggle disaster that had recently occurred in New York. However, they had arrived in Jerusalem without incident and had little difficulty making their way to Lydda. The Church of Saint George was not hard to find as it was one of the most popular attractions, as many travellers sought out the site, whether they were of Christian, Muslim or even Jewish decent due to the many stories that people had heard about St. George.

They entered the church and quietly took a seat in the back pew and quietly observed the coming and going of visitors, pilgrims, monks and clergy. The young couple silently noted that occasionally a monk would enter from the right side of the church and then shortly depart through the same door. Harry waited for the majority of the people to leave after the prayer service that they had walked in on had come to an end. Harry wondered if Daphne would be allowed to even follow him, but he quietly decided to walk up to the door on the right side of the sanctuary and that they would just try their luck.

Harry pushed on the heavy wooden door that opened into a hallway heading to his left. As soon as he and Daphne had entered the hall, a monk in tan robes stepped forward from an alcove that Harry had not noticed and he blocked their way.

"Excuse me," he said calmly to Harry, "but you cannot head that way. Please, just return to the sanctuary."

Harry was initially surprised that the man spoke English, as he was worried that they would possibly be dealing with individuals who spoke Arabic or some other language. Harry then quickly pulled the silver Pendragon token out of his pocket and held it in front of the man barring his way. The monk took a step back as he recognised the symbol and the words on the coin. Immediately he bowed his head, and apologised.

"My apologies, milord," he said without looking back at Harry. "I will go and fetch the abbot, please sir, wait right here. I shall not be long."

The monk then turned without waiting for a reply from Harry and immediately disappeared down the corridor that wound away to the right just ahead of where Harry and Daphne were standing. It was less than three minutes before the monk returned, this time with another man who was wearing what Harry had presumed were priestly robes. He had a short, flat topped black hat upon his head and a thick beard. This new man's eyes shone with a sparkle that was comforting and exciting. Harry would soon learn that he was the abbot for the monastery and he requested that Harry and Daphne follow him. They turned down the hallway that the monk had initially used and then they came to a stop in front of a blank wall. The abbot slowly waved his hand in front of the empty wall at the end of the hall, and soon there were several runes that appeared. He then asked Harry to place the token on the wall, in the middle of the runes. Hesitantly Harry did just that. There was a slight sound of rock scraping on rock as a doorway appeared and slowly opened into a rather ornate room. There was a table in the centre, several chairs that looked as though they were brand new with large cushions and covered in a rich velvety material. The monk did not enter the room but remained in the hallway as the stone door slowly closed after Harry, Daphne and the abbot had entered the room.

"My good man," said the abbot, "you come with the mark of Saint George. How may we be of assistance?" As he asked the question he waved his hand towards the chairs, offering them all a seat around the table.

Harry helped Daphne into one of the chairs and then he sat down to her right, facing the abbot. He had slipped the token back into his pocket as they entered the room. "I am on a quest. I seek Ascalon, the lance that was used by Saint George when he defeated the dragon."

The abbott's smile turned down slightly at this comment.

Before the abbot could comment, Harry spoke his concerns, "I suppose that you are unable or unwilling to allow us access to the lance?"

The abbott was surprised by the comment from the young man in front of him. "No, no, my young man, I think you have misunderstood my reaction. You come here, and you have in your possession of the Pendragon Token. Ascalon is yours to use as you see fit."

Harry turned to his fiancé and raised an eyebrow. Daphne smiled back and squeezed his hand. Then she turned to the abbot, "Well that is some of the best news we have heard in quite some time."

Harry agreed, "That's just brilliant. So, can I have the lance?"

The abbot frowned in response. "You can have the lance. Once you find it."

Harry's countenance feel. He was not expecting any sort of scavenger hunt. "The lance, Ascalon, it is not here? I thought that this church which houses the tomb of Saint George, that this is where his lance would be kept."

The abbot smiled brightly at this comment. "And you would be correct. Well, you would have been correct if you had come here over fifty years ago. Ascalon had been kept here for quite some time. However, the lance was loaned out, or perhaps a better way to describe what happened, is that it was placed into other hands to protect it and keep it safe. As unrest grew in this part of the world, there were those who felt that it would be best to keep Ascalon safe."

Harry felt his hope drain out of him and he feared he would never be able to find the lance. Daphne was anxious over the sudden change in their circumstances and then spoke to the abbot. "Just exactly where was the lance, Ascalon, taken when it left here? Or don't you know that information."

The abbot forced a smile as he replied. "I know where the lance was supposed to have been taken, but that does not mean that it is still there."

Harry's hopes began to rise again. "And where is it that the lance was taken to when it left this church."

"To the cathedral dedicated to Saint George," answered the abbot.

Daphne sighed in frustration. "Which cathedral? There are literally hundreds of cathedrals around the world that are dedicated to Saint George."

The abbot chuckled softly at her question. "Perth, of course. Saint George's Anglican Cathedral in Perth was completed in 1888. It was before they began the major renovations to the cathedral in the 1960s when the guardians of the lance came and brought it away from here, to be kept safely as far away from the area of Palestine and the Middle East as possible."

"Another journey," said Harry with a sigh.

Daphne leaned over and embraced him with a hug. "Travelling back to Australia should not be a particularly big deal. At least we're not chasing after a griffon this time. And besides, Perth should be a little more comfortable than going through the outback and into the northern mountains. It might be fun!"

Harry merely rolled his eyes at her suggestion of one of his adventures being fun.

* * *

Harry and Daphne were able to arrange for a series of international floo connections to get them to Perth. However, they had several layovers in various cities due to the heightened security that had been put in place, even across the magical world, after the events of September 2001 in the muggle world. Many of the international floo connections were situated in either muggle airports or train stations.

While they were awaiting their turn to use the international floo connection that would take them from Hong Kong to Perth, Harry noticed that there was a copy of the Los Angeles Times, a muggle newspaper lying on the small table near where he was sitting. Out of curiosity, he decided to pick it up and read what was making news in the muggle United States. He quickly skimmed over various articles about airport security and concerns over terrorism being sponsored by various Middle Eastern countries. He read really didn't have an understanding about what the Americans called football so he ignored the sports section.

Harry's attention was drawn to an article in another section of the newspaper that was entitled entertainment. Apparently there had been a big disturbance at the home of some muggle movie director who was working on finishing his upcoming new blockbuster. The story included quotes from various movie industry people who claimed they saw some crazed woman with blazing red hair threatening everyone at the Skywalker Ranch if they didn't tell her where he boyfriend was. Apparently the same woman had been seen at movie studios in the Hollywood area the day before. However, before the authorities could apprehend her at either location, she seemed to have just disappeared. Harry thought to himself that muggles seemed to have plenty of crazy people, maybe even more than there were in the magical world.

Shortly after finishing reading through the paper, Daphne caught his attention and indicated that it was time for them to leave for Australia.

They arrived at their destination in Perth, and proceeded to check into a suite at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. They had made arrangements for Hermione to meet with them while they were there, as they had decided to help her with her parents as she had hoped that Harry would be able to use the Elder Wand try and restore their memories.

* * *

Ronald Weasley was not appreciating the dressing down that he was receiving from his irate sister. He really did not want to hear about her run in with the muggle authorities outside of Los Angeles or San Francisco. However, having her wand pointed alternatively at his face or at his privates was enough to keep him focused on what she was saying.

"How could you be such an idiot?" she demanded. Without giving him any time to answer, she continued to scream at him. "The muggle police nearly caught me once. I went up to that place and no one there had ever heard of Harry freaking Potter! No one there had any idea about anything. There was something about industrial magical lights, but no magicians. So, do you have anything useful for me?"

Ron swallowed hard. "Well, there is one thing," he said timidly.

Ginny pressed the tip of her wand against her brother's neck. "This better be useful. And reliable."

"I just received an owl from Harry. Something about going to Australia, going to church, trying to help Hermione."

Ginny loosened up on her wand. Ron sighed slightly in relief.

"Are you sure about this information?" she asked.

"You can read the letter yourself, if you want," he said.

"Fine, I'll do that," she snapped. Ginny grabbed the letter from Harry and then read it quickly. Looking back at her brother she gave him a slight grin. "You actually might have redeemed yourself with this bit of information. I won't hex you. Yet."

With that final threat, Ginny turned and left the store. When he was sure he was alone, Ron muttered some curses under his breath.

* * *

The suite at the Hyatt Regency Hotel was something to behold thought Harry as he relaxed in his room. He had felt awkward at first about traveling with his fiancé, and sharing a room no less, but he was relieved when he was able to procure a room with separate bed rooms. He knew he wanted to wait until he actually was able to marry Daphne, and as they had spoken openly about their relationship they both agreed to delay any further physical intimacy until after their wedding. So the suite was both comfortable and in an odd way, practical.

Harry knew that Hermione would be arriving soon from Alexandria, Egypt, and they planned to search for her parents together. In the mean time, Harry and Daphne decided they would spend the afternoon leisurely exploring the city. They quickly discovered that the cathedral was only about 1.2 kilometres from their hotel and they enjoyed relaxing in Langley Park wand walking along the Swan River. After spending a leisurely afternoon in the park, Harry decided to head back up to the room, but Daphne wanted to take a look around the area and do some window shopping.

Harry gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he headed back into the hotel. He was looking forward to relaxing in their room and just enjoying the view. Harry stopped by the front desk and the desk clerk commented to Harry that his lady friend had already headed up to the room and gave Harry a wink. Harry thought that it was odd as they were not expecting Hermione to show up until later that evening. Harry stepped onto the elevator as he smiled thinking that Hermione must have been able to arrange quicker travel from Egypt.

As Harry entered the suite, he called out, "Hey there, I'm back!" as he expected to have his oldest and best friend greet him.

There was no response at first, which Harry thought was odd. As he walked further into the suite, he heard some noise from one of the bedrooms. The door opened and he was shocked to see Ginny Weasley stepping out, wrapped only in a bed sheet. Upon seeing Harry, she dropped the sheet as she gleefully stated, "Oh, my, Harry, you startled me!" Then she looked down at the sheet on the floor and then back up at Harry as she added, "Oops!"

Harry was shocked and angered at the same time.

"Bloody hell, Weasley!" he screamed at her. "Just what do you think you're doing here?"

"I think it's quite obvious what I'm doing here," she said with a smirk. "I'm claiming you for my own again, and that slimy Slytherin slut of a want to be girlfriend can get lost. I told you that I wasn't going to give up on you. I've decided to forgive you for your foolishness and allow you back into my life again."

Harry couldn't believe the gall of the woman in front of him. He shook his head slightly as he replied, "You are pathetic. You have no right to even be here, and you really should put your clothes back on and leave. And I expect you to do it right now," he added emphatically.

"Oh, what's the matter," she asked mockingly, "is little Harry worried that the scaly bitch might walk in and fins us together. Then she'll see you for what you are, and her heart will be broken and she'll run away and cry." Ginny started strutting slowly towards Harry. "But I'll be here to comfort you when she leaves and breaks your heart."

Harry could hardly believe what was happening to him. His mind was racing as he wondered just how he would ever explain this to Daphne. Just as he was wondering how to respond to the delusional woman in front of him, he heard the sound of a door slamming behind him. He turned and saw an obviously irate Daphne had walked into the suite. Harry's mouth just hung open as he tried to come up with words to explain the situation she had walked in upon.

Daphne glared at the red-headed women standing naked in the middle of the room. "The scaly bitch, as you put it, has no plans on running away and crying. You are one delusional witch and you really need to get a grip on reality."

Harry wasn't sure what to expect from Daphne, but this was not at all how he thought she would react. He turned back to face Ginny and he noted that her face was turning as red as her hair.

Ginny merely hissed at Daphne as she reached behind her and silently summoned her wand to her hand. Harry felt as though the scene in front of him was happening in slow motion. Ginny grabbed her wand and pointed it directly at Daphne as she silently cast a hex.

Harry had extended his arm and released the Elder Wand from its holster on his wrist into his hand as he cast a protego shield in front of Daphne. His fear for her safety caused him to place as much power into the shield as he could muster. The blue light from Ginny's wand crashed into the shield that Harry had created around Daphne who was still in the motion of calling forth her wand into her hand.

The blue light from Ginny's reducto spell rebounded off the shield directly back at her. Ginny was stunned to see her spell bounce off a shield as she could see that Daphne did not have time to draw her wand in defence. As the spell hit Ginny square in her chest she was launched backwards across the room and into the wall behind her. The impact of her body against the wall made a large hole in the wall as she collapsed with debris falling around her.

Daphne screamed in shock at the scene in front of her. Harry ran over to hold Daphne, hoping that she was unharmed. Daphne grabbed Harry in a tight hug and buried her head in his shoulder. Sobbing into him she asked, "Harry, is she? Is she going to be all right?"

Harry hugged Daphne tightly for a moment and then released her and turned to look back at Ginny and the wall. The sight in front of him caused his knees to give out from under neath him. As he fell forward onto his knees, he heard the sound of a familiar voice behind him.

Hermione had arrived just after the spells were cast. She had heard the screams and the sounds of the spell hitting something and a loud crash like a wall being blasted apart. "Merlin's beard!" she exclaimed. "What did you do Harry?"

* * *

**A/N: To answer several questions that have arisen from readers:**

**1: Why use Palestine, not Israel? This is a fictional piece of work based on a world where magic is real. Israel is a modern country that was established in 1947, by decree of the United Nations. In the world of magic, this would not necessarily be recognized, so I used the term Palestine. I did not mean to offend any one by this.  
**

**2: Why use Lydda, instead of the current name of the city in Israel which is Lod? This one is more simple. Because, St. George (of St. George and the Dragon fame) is known as St. George of Lydda (the name of the city when he was born). The church dedicated to St. George that was built by Constantine and houses his relics/tomb was built in Lydda, long before it became known as Lod.  
**

**3: But why not use the current name of the city, Lod? For the same reason that as an Orthodox Christian I refer to my Patriarch as Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of _Constantinople_. He is NOT the Patriarch of Istanbul - Istanbul is a name given to a city after it was overrun by Muslims. It was known for over 1000 years by Christians as Constantinople, and we will continue to refer to it as Constantinople because of our Orthodox Christian heritage.  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Here is the next chapter. This has been edited multiple times. Chapter 19 is partially done already. Thanks for your patience. Your reviews and comments are appreciated, but hopefully these chapters have had better editing than much of the previous chapters.**_  
_

* * *

_From Chapter 17:_

_The blue light from Ginny's reducto spell rebounded off the shield directly back at her. Ginny was stunned to see her spell bounce off a shield as she could see that Daphne did not have time to draw her wand in defence. As the spell hit Ginny square in her chest she was launched backwards across the room and into the wall behind her. The impact of her body against the wall made a large hole in the wall as she collapsed with debris falling around her. _

_Daphne screamed in shock at the scene in front of her. Harry ran over to hold Daphne, hoping that she was unharmed. Daphne grabbed Harry in a tight hug and buried her head in his shoulder. Sobbing into him she asked, "Harry, is she? Is she going to be all right?"_

_Harry hugged Daphne tightly for a moment and then released her and turned to look back at Ginny and the wall. The sight in front of him caused his knees to give out from under neath him. As he fell forward onto his knees, he heard the sound of a familiar voice behind him._

_Hermione had arrived just after the spells were cast. She had heard the screams and the sounds of the spell hitting something and a loud crash like a wall being blasted apart. "Merlin's beard!" she exclaimed. "What did you do Harry?"_

Hermione looked at the bloody and naked body of Ginevra Weasley lying motionless on the floor amidst the dust and debris from the wall that she had obviously crashed into just moments before. Harry was sobbing as he looked back and forth between Ginny's body and Hermione. Hermione did not wait for an answer as she ran over to check on Ginny. She had tears in her eyes as she turned back to Harry who was now being held by Daphne.

Hermione cast a patronus charm, and a silver otter took off running out of the room. She then spoke to her two friends, having a hard time finding the words. "Ginny, she's, she is dead. Harry, what did you do?" She noted his condition was not one that indicated he was about to answer. She looked up at Daphne. "Can you tell me what the hell happened? I already called for the Australian Aurors to come. They will be here shortly."

Daphne had tears streaming down her face as she was holding Harry who had collapsed backwards into her embrace. She stroked his hair as he spoke to him softly, "I know you didn't mean for her to get hurt, Harry. You cast a _protego_ shield, that's all you did. You had no idea that her curse would ricochet back onto her like that."

Harry was stunned and speechless in Daphne's arms. Hermione walked over to her friends. "Harry," she said calmly, "hand me your wand. The Aurors will need to investigate what happened."

Harry looked at his friend. "No, they can't take it," he protested. "It's the Elder Wand. Don't tell them anything about the wand."

Hermione sighed as she reached out to caress Harry's cheek and wipe away some tears. "The Aurors will need to check everyone's wands when they get here. They will need to take a statement from both of you."

Harry coughed once and pulled himself together and began to stand up. "It's okay Hermione, I know what the Aurors need to do to complete their job. Remember, I nearly became one. I know you did what needed to be done."

As Harry was finished speaking several people in long dark robes arrived. Hermione stood up and walked over to greet them. One of the Aurors recognised her as the former minister for the Department of Magical Creatures. "Miss Contadina? I thought you had left Australia? What are you doing here?"

Hermione had momentarily forgotten that she went by the name of Gianna Contadina during her time here in Australia. "Yes, I had left Australia much earlier this year." She studied the man for a moment. "Gibbons, is it?" she asked, recognising the man slightly.

"It's Gibson, mam, Auror Gibson," he answered with a smile as he understood that the former minister had remembered who he was, even if she did not get the name exactly right.

"Very well, Gibson," she added, "what we have here is a very delicate situation. We have some visitors here from England who really don't want to cause any trouble, however they were attacked. From what I understand, the only spell that this gentleman cast was a shield spell, a _protego_, to defend the lady here. The woman who cast the attacking spell suffered the consequences of her spell rebounding back on to her."

The Auror looked at the group of people gathered and then at the 'victim' lying in a bloody and naked mess on the floor.

"A bit of a lovers spat, eh?" he asked with a wink, taking in the scene in front of him.

Daphne spoke up before Harry as she squeezed his hand tightly urging him to remain silent. "Nothing of the sort," she snapped. "More like an obsessed and crazed woman who couldn't have what she wanted."

The Auror raised an eyebrow. "We'll be the judge of that," answered Gibson coldly. "May I inspect the wands?" he stated, not truly asking a question.

Hermione handed him Harry's wand. "This is the wand that he used to cast the _protego_ charm, I took it from his hand as soon as I arrived." She then tilted her head slightly to the rubble at the base of the wall behind them, "I do believe that the 'victim' still has her wand with her."

Gibson examined the wand he was handed closely without saying a word. Then he deftly pulled out his wand, touched it to the tip of the Elder Wand and softly spoke "_prior incantato_". A slight mist appeared with the signature of the _protego_ spell. The auror muttered slightly and handed the wand in question back to the former minister for the department of magical creatures. He walked over to the mess that had been Ginevra Molly Weasley, and the other aurors who had begun investigating the body and the scene stepped aside. Ginny's wand lay by her hand amidst the dust and the powder from the destroyed drywall. He picked up the wand, and again spoke "_prior incantato_" and a different blue mist appeared, indicating that she had used the _reducto_ spell. "While they are both blue mists, it appears that your assessment is correct, Miss Contadina. However," he paused as he let his next sentence sink in, "we will need to be sure that no other spells were cast, that this wand by her side was indeed her own. I will need to have more information about the wands and the events and the people involved here."

Hermione stood up in front of the Auror, trying to look as official as possible, "A prolonged investigation could be rather problematic." She left a dramatic pause of her own, before continuing. "I am not sure that you really want all of the potential publicity drawn into this case and your superiors would not like any sort of scandal to erupt."

"What are you saying?" questioned Gibson. "Are you trying to intimidate me?"

"No, Mr. Gibson," smiled Hermione, "I am trying to save you future headaches related to this case. This does not need to become front page news or an international media circus."

"What are you on about?" asked the tall Auror again. "You're acting like it's Harry Bloody Potter who's involved with this mess."

Silence.

Gibson stared at the woman he knew as Gianna Contadina and awaited an answer. The silence in the room had a deafening affect on everyone present. Slowly he turned and looked at the man with the long black hair and green eyes who was still being held from behind by a rather striking blonde woman. Gibson looked closer and noted a fading lightning bolt shaped scar on the man's forehead. "Bloody hell."

* * *

Harry and Hermione were sitting in a conference room in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The Australian Minister for Magic was there as well as the head of the Australian DMLE.

"Now, Miss Contadina, I do not and will not support any sort of cover up. The people have a right to know what happened here," stated the Australian Minister.

"I understand that more than you may think, Mr. Brimley," replied Hermione. "However, I believe that you need to consider the ramifications of the story being released. Once the press gets a hold of this they will have a field day with it."

Hermione's words were interrupted as a couple of men entered the room. Two wizards in fine dress robes had walked into the secured conference room. The Minister of Magic stood up and was about to chastise whomever had decided to interrupt the meeting, but as he immediately recognised one of the men, he stopped himself from yelling and quickly greeted the newcomer. "Ambassador Feldman, it is good to see you again. However, I had not anticipated your joining us for this matter."

Ambassador Feldman, a tall man of about six foot four inches with thinning grey hair smiled calmly at the Australian Minister as he shook his hand. "Oh come now, William," replied the ambassador, "you would actually want me to believe that you did not think that the British Magical Government would want to be made aware when you have an incident involving a number of our citizens, especially when one of those citizens is Harry James Potter." The Ambassador pulled out a chair at the table and sat himself down next to Harry and then he turned back to the Australian Minister. "Oh, and Minister Shacklebolt sends his regards, and he does hope that we can avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness in the press with this delicate situation."

The minister turned a little red in the face. "Of course, that is understandable," he replied. He tried to cover his own backside carefully now as he continued, "I was not aware that Mr. Potter here was such good friends with Minister Shacklebolt that he would send the ambassador himself, I had assumed that one of your staff would be joining us here at the meeting."

Feldman looked over at his aide who had joined him and whispered, "I told you and that will be 10 galleons." Turning back to the minister he actually forced a slight frown. "Really, sir, you did not expect that our minister would be friends with _the_ Harry Potter? After all, this young man _is_ the one who defeated Tom Riddle, the self styled dark lord who used the moniker of Voldemort to spread fear across England and threatened all of Europe. Or has that tale not yet reached the shores of your beautiful country?"

The Australian minister squirmed in his seat slightly. "I did not think that what this young man accomplished in his past has any bearing on the events that occurred here earlier this evening."

Feldman clearly had been well briefed on the situation before he arrived as he calmly had taken over the conversation, alleviating Hermione of having to further verbally wrangle with the bureaucratic mess that they had found themselves in.

"Would you mind if I clarified the facts and the issues we have in front of us?" The English Ambassador did not wait for a reply and he continued with his comments. "One, we have the fact that a young and obviously obsessed Ginevra Molly Weasley, a British Magical citizen, and world renowned Quidditch player, is found dead in a hotel room here in Australia when her team is not even playing anywhere near here. Two, said witch in question, was found by your own Aurors to have cast the very spell that killed her. Three, said witch was also found to be in possession of illegal love potions keyed to herself. Four, said witch was also found to have various mood altering potions in her system at the time of her death. Add to that these facts that only confuse the issue. One is that she happened to have manipulated the hotel employees to illegally gain entry to the room. Another is that she was there to intimidate or manipulate a Lord of a Most Noble and Ancient House, and apparently she had cast a spell in an attack against the Lady of a Noble House. Additionally, publicity surrounding these facts would not only lead to increased discomfort for the involved and _clearly_ innocent parties but it would lead to a potential backlash against the Australian Wizarding Community if people felt that they were not safe in travelling here, particularly when the ones who were being harassed here are of such prominent positions within the wizarding world in England in particular and in all of the magical realms in general."

Feldman turned briefly to Hermione and Harry and gave them the briefest of smiles and then he turned back to the minister. "If the Australian magical government is prepared for the firestorm of media and controversy that would surround such a fantastical tale to be told in the press, then you are welcome to it."

Brimley shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked for any support from his advisors who were with him at the meeting. Brian Watson, the head of the Australian DMLE spoke up first. "Are you asking for a cover up of the details that happened here? Are you asking us to lie to the public about that? I thought that Shacklebolt was nothing like your old Minister Fudge."

Feldman winced slightly at the name of his former boss. "No, we are not asking for anyone to lie. But perhaps a careful consideration of just what is revealed to the press would be more prudent."

The minister was intrigued but Watson was still concerned. "And just what would you have in mind?" he asked sternly.

Harry felt that this Watson was more severe in his attitudes than even Madam Amelia Bones was when she had run the British DMLE several years before.

The ambassador nodded slightly in acquiescence to the head of the DMLE. "Miss Weasley is known throughout the magical world for her prowess on a broom and there is plenty that has been written about her in the gossip columns about her personal life. Some of the details of the events of today would merely confirm some of that. The fact that a witch who was under the influence of some self administered potion had cast a spell that backfired and killed her would be nothing that would shock some people, and it would give the press plenty of juicy information."

Watson raised an eyebrow at this. "So, your staff already has the results that indicate that the victim, Miss Weasley, had potions in her system?" He scoffed before Feldman could reply. "I am not sure I want to know how you got that information so quickly."

Feldman merely smiled slightly.

"And what about Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass?" asked the head of the DMLE. "What are we to tell the press about them?"

"Does the press need to know who was in the room? Lord Potter and Lady Greengrass could have easily been staying in the hotel next door, the Crowne Plaza, for all we know. Mere coincidence that they were here in Perth." The ambassador waited for a reply from his Australian colleagues. Upon hearing nothing he then stood up and stated firmly, "I do believe that Lord Potter and Lady Greengrass would prefer to have no further interrogations on this matter and that they would prefer to retire to their rooms, _at the Crowne Plaza_, as soon as possible as it has been a long day for them. I am sure that they will be available for any necessary but appropriate follow up you may have with them over the next several days. It seems that they are booked in their rooms at the hotel next door for the next several days. If you have nothing further this evening, then we shall be on our way." He turned to Harry as he spoke softly, "Lady Daphne is already next door, as is all of your things which you came with."

Harry nodded in reply. The ambassador and his aide then escorted Harry out of the room and down the hall towards the front doors. Upon entering the Crowne Plaza Hotel next door Harry started to ask some questions. Feldman silenced him with a slight shake of his head until they entered the elevator and he cast secrecy charms.

"Now, Mr. Potter, what questions do you have for me?" asked the ambassador.

"What about Hermione? Why is she not coming with us?" asked Harry who was worried about what had just occurred.

"Hermione is officially an Australian Magical citizen in their eyes, and she is only involved in that she came into the room as a witness. We have no responsibility for her welfare and safety in this situation." Feldman paused briefly, and then added, "However, I do believe that she may choose to relocate to the Crowne Plaza Hotel on her own, and we have already spoken with the hotel here in case she decides to do just that."

Harry felt a little reassured on hearing that, and then he asked about the press comments.

The ambassador's eyes twinkled slightly as he answered Harry. "Minister Shacklebolt has made it quite clear that he understands your desire to stay out of the limelight. But there is a story here and apparently one Rita Skeeter is already on her way to investigate the rumours of the death of Ginevra Weasley, Quidditch star, and she will be here by tomorrow. We will do our best to keep you and Daphne and your presence here from being revealed to her. I honestly have no idea what you and your friend are doing here in Australia. Honestly, I personally do not care. But as I said, the minister wants to make sure this does not affect you anymore than the obvious emotional stress of the actual events."

At that point the doors opened and they walked into the hallway leading to the suite of rooms that had been arranged for Harry and Daphne. Harry was glad to see that Daphne was waiting for him there when he entered the room. Apparently this suite had been magically enhanced already and it was quite spacious as well as being very comfortable and elegant.

Harry and Daphne greeted each other with a large hug. The ambassador smiled at the happiness of the reunion. As he was about to leave, he had one further question for Harry.

"Lord Potter," he asked, "would you mind telling me just why it is that you are here in Perth to begin with?"

Harry looked at Daphne who responded with a puzzled expression as she understood what Harry's look had implied but she had no idea what to say to the ambassador.

"Simply put," Harry answered, "we are here on a religious pilgrimage. I hope to speak with the abbot at a local church about some historical issues involving the cathedral here. I have become a student of history of sorts, and we just wanted to visit here and research some of the local church history."

"I should have known better than to receive a straight answer from you," said the ambassador with a grin. "Very well, I don't really need to know why you are here. But do not leave Perth until you speak with me further. We do not want to upset the Australian Magical Government any further. They are the ones who still have to deal with the death of a British citizen on their soil. Good night to the both of you." With that he turned and called his aide to join him with a silent hand signal and they left Harry and Daphne alone in their new suite.

It was an hour after the ambassador had left before there was a knock on the door to their suite. Harry approached the door tentatively, hoping that they were not going to be having any further trouble from the Australian Magical authorities. He glanced through the peep hole in the door and he was thrilled to see a his bushy haired best friend. He opened the door and he was immediately grabbed in a large hug from Hermione who started crying.

"I am so sorry Harry," she sobbed into his shoulder. "I am so sorry this all had to happen and then the investigation and even the Australian Minister getting involved. I can't believe Ginny tried to do that to you. Or to Daphne. What are you going to do now?"

Harry grabbed Hermione gently by her shoulders and eased her away from him so he could look into her eyes. "Easy there, Hermione." His smile softened her expression and helped her to calm down. "Daphne and I are fine. We will be fine. Let's not worry about this at all right now. Come on in and sit down. We all need to take some time to relax."

Daphne came up and gave Hermione a hug. "You of all people should know Harry well enough by now. Things happen around Harry and he always seems to come out okay." She turned to Harry as she added, "But I advise you Mr. Potter to try and put an end to this kind of excitement in your life. Neither you nor your friends need to go through this time and time again. And I am not interested in making a habit out of having to go through things like this with you."

Hermione's sobs had subsided to sniffles and then she was able to control her emotions again. The three of them entered the sitting room in the middle of the suite. They gave a collective sigh of relief that the past several hours of questioning and investigations was finally behind them. Harry noted that he heard several stomachs beginning to growl hungrily. It had been about 4 in the afternoon when the incident occurred at the hotel room and it was nearly 10 pm. Harry suggested that they order room service to settle their hunger and avoid having to go out in public.

While they waited for the food to arrive, Hermione was able to switch back into her usual self and began to plan out the schedule for the next several days. "So, Harry, you and Daphne should go to the cathedral tomorrow morning by 9 and try and set up a meeting with the abbot. Hopefully you will be able to meet with him by the next day. In the mean time, I will head over to my parents' dentistry office and then I will try to arrange a time and a place for us to meet with them so we can try using the Elder Wand to restore their memories. Then I am sure that the Australian DMLE will insist on at least one more meeting before they allow you to leave. In addition to that we will have to plan on how to avoid the press, as I hear that Rita Skeeter is on her way to Australia to investigate the story about Ginny's death. And someone will have to contact the Weasley's to let them know about what happened."

Harry put a finger to Hermione's mouth and quietly shushed her. "Easy there, Hermione. Take a breath. We will have plenty of time to figure all of this out. And I am sure that her parents have already been informed by the ambassador's office if not by Kingsley himself. He was the one who sent Ambassador Feldman to our meeting. Also, we don't need to make things worse for her parents. Do you think they really want the _whole_ story of what she was trying to do?"

Hermione was surprised at Harry's comments. "But Harry, how could you say that? You hated being lied to and not being told the whole truth."

Harry nodded his understanding of where she was going with this argument. "But that had to do with my life and others trying to control me and not tell me the whole truth of my destiny and my family. I might have made different choices in my life back then when I was in school. But we cannot change the fact that Ginny died. She died because of choices she made and that cannot be undone. What would be gained from Molly and Arthur hearing more details of what happened, that she continued to stalk me for months on end?"

Hermione but her lip as she considered what Harry was saying. Before she could answer there was a knock on the door as room service arrived with the food and drinks they had ordered. They trio relaxed as they ate. Daphne had investigated the suite while she had been waiting on Harry to finish his meeting with the officials and she had discovered there were three bedrooms as well as a hot tub connected to one of the two bathrooms. The three decided to take a relaxing dip in the jacuzzi before retiring to their own beds for the night.

* * *

Harry had decided to avoid going out in public for a meal for breakfast, even if they were in a different hotel than where the tragedy had occurred the previous day, so he had arranged for room service for breakfast. As the three friends sat around enjoying their leisurely start to the day they discussed their respective plans for the day. Harry and Daphne would walk over to the cathedral and Hermione would plan on meeting with her parents. When Harry had been walking through the park yesterday afternoon he had noted that there was a nearby pub on the river only a block or two away from the hotel so they agreed they would meet up there for dinner at bout 5:30, hoping that would avoid the evening rush.

Hermione had also suggested that they use the back entrance to the hotel as she knew that Rita Skeeter would be showing up any time that day to begin her investigation into what she would write as the 'real story' behind the death of Ginny Weasley, world famous Quidditch player.

Harry and Daphne had been happy to do anything to avoid the possibility of running into the reporter who had previously caused so much distress in Harry's life, even if she had eventually written some positive articles about him during Harry's fourth year. They had found the back entrance and headed down Adelaide Terrace which would connect with Saint George's Terrace. The arrived at the cathedral and made their way to the church office where they asked if they could speak with the abbot. The church secretary seemed like a stern woman as she asked them to explain the nature of their meeting. Daphne quickly answered for Harry.

"We're hoping to discuss the some of the history of this beautiful building and the parish itself. You see, I'm writing a paper on Saint George and the various churches that have named themselves after him, and I really was hoping to be able to get the perspective of the clergy at some of the more prominent churches and cathedrals that are named in honour of this most fascinating saint. We've travelled all the way from England, by way of Israel, and we were just hopping that we might be able to meet with him." Harry was amazed by Daphne's quick and detailed reply. He almost believed her story himself, he found it so convincing.

The secretary seemed to believe the explanation as well. She quickly opened a file on the computer in front of her and she hummed quietly as she looked over the abbot's schedule. "Well, I am sure he would be happy to help with such a noble project, perhaps he could meet with you at 1 this afternoon. I'd have to make some adjustments in his schedule. In the mean time, I can arrange for one of the staff here to show you around, give you a tour of our cathedral and the rest of our facilities."

Harry leaned forward and took Daphne's hand in his as he replied to the secretary. "That sounds absolutely wonderful. We really do appreciate your help in this manner."

One of the teachers from the Cathedral Education Series was available to give them a tour of the cathedral as she explained the history of the building and the parish. Daphne had conjured a small note pad and a pen so that she could take notes during the tour so as to make it appear as she truly was preparing to write a paper on the cathedral. As the tour was winding down, Harry tried to see if there was any further information their guide might have about Saint George himself, although he was no expecting to be able to get any information about the lance.

"I was wondering," he began, "does this church, or cathedral, have any relics or anything special from Saint George himself? I had heard that some churches would try to have something that once belonged to or was a part of the saint that the church was named after."

The tour guide huffed in response. "We're not barbaric like those eastern churches or even some of the Roman churches that keep bits and pieces of the saints bodies lying around. That would just seem so horrid." She looked at Daphne as she added, "Just the idea of something like that makes me shiver."

Daphne smiled back at her as she gave a nod in agreement. "I know what you mean," she replied. Then she turned to Harry as she chastised him, "How could you possibly ask something like that?" She pretended to be upset with her companion, which the tour guide noted and smiled back at Daphne reassuringly to indicate that it was really okay.

As the tour completed, Harry and Daphne thanked her for her time and they stopped by the office again to confirm the scheduled meeting with the abbot for later that they wandered around the local area of the city and found a simple sandwich shop not too far away. They arrived back at the cathedral a few minutes before one, and the secretary informed them that the abbott was running a little late, but that he would have a few minutes to meet with them shortly. Harry and Daphne again thanked her for her efforts to arrange this appointment and they waited patiently for their meeting with the abbott.

Shortly after one in the afternoon, a tall thin man in dark robes came out to greet Harry and Daphne. "Welcome to St. George's Cathedral," he said with a slight bow of his head. "I am Father John, the abbott here. Why don't you come join me in my office, I understand you have some questions about this church and its history."

Harry and Daphne both smiled pleasantly as Harry answered, "Yes we do." The young couple followed the man into his office, which was simply decorated but had several tall book shelves. The abbott closed the door behind him and gestured to several chairs around a small table and offered for them to take a seat. He then sat down in his chair and steepled his hands as he serenely asked, "So just how may I be of assistance to you? What would you like to know about our cathedral or our parish?"

Harry smiled pleasantly back as he pulled the coin that Merlin had given him out of his pocket. He placed it gently on the table between Father John and himself. He noted the abbot's eyes open wide in response to seeing the shiny coin. Harry was pleased that it seemed the priest recognised the significance of the coin. The abbot looked at Harry, with a look of expectation as he awaited an explanation from his guests about just why they had this coin.

Harry sensed the tension that the abbot was feeling which was communicated through the silent stare at the coin and at Harry. "You do recognise the significance of that coin," stated Harry. He received a silent nod acknowledging that he did indeed.

"I come in search of Ascalon, the lance that was used by Saint George himself." Harry made his simple statement and waited on a reply from the abbot.

Father John sat in stunned silence, and shifted his gaze from the coin to Harry and to Daphne and then back to the coin. After s couple of minutes in silence, the abbot spoke softly. "But my good friend, if you have that coin then surely you must know."

Harry gave a confused look in response. "I must know what, exactly?" he questioned.

"Ascalon, the lance," said the dumbfounded priest. "It has not been here for a number of years. At the time that we began the major renovations of this cathedral about ten years ago, several monks came from the monastery and they explained that with the work going on here that this was no longer a safe place to keep the lance. Such an artefact needed to be kept in a much safer place."

Harry looked at Daphne and sighed in frustration. He rubbed his forehead and then turned back to face the abbot. "Who were these monks? Were they form the church in Lydda? If so, I was just there and they suggested that I come speak with you, here in Perth."

The abbot seemed to struggle with whether or not he should say anything further, and then he looked at the coin once more and reached out and gently picked it up, running his fingers gently over the surface. He then placed the coin back on the table and slid it back to Harry. "You come in possession of this coin, so I presume that I can tell you this information. The lance was taken by monks from the St. Yuriev Monastery." His answer was met by blank stares from both Harry and Daphne. "It's in Novgorod," he continued, " in Russia. Along the Yohlkov River. The Monastery was only recently returned to the Orthodox Church, maybe ten or so years ago. It was shortly after this that the monks came and took Ascalon with them. If you seek the lance, then that is where you must go."

Harry reached out and picked up the coin and slid it back into one of his pockets. Harry and Daphne rose up from the table as Harry bade the abbot farewell. "You have been most helpful, father," stated Harry. He and Daphne then turned and left. They walked silently out of the cathedral. The two continued in silence with Harry leading the way to a bench in the riverside park where he sat down and groaned his frustration. "Why do I feel like we're on a wild goose chase?" he wondered out loud.

* * *

Harry had arranged for them to meet up with Hermione at the pub by the waterfront. Shortly after five thirty that afternoon, Hermione arrived in the pub and she was beaming from ear to ear.

"It looks as if her day has been more successful than ours has," commented Daphne.

Hermione heard this and frowned. "What? No leads on the lance? I thought you said that the monk in Israel was reliable."

Harry sighed, "Oh, the monk there was reliable. The only thing is we are about ten years to late."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Did they destroy the lance? Did something happen to it? Did someone steel it?"

"Slow down girl," chastised Daphne. "It is more polite to breath in between sentences, or questions for that matter."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Daphne's comment, and then she turned to Harry, who was obviously laughing at Daphne's chiding of their friend. Hermione merely glared at Harry for taking pleasure in the situation, and then she restated her questions, although a little slower this time.

Harry's expression turned into a frown. "No, they did not destroy the lance. They just gave it away to a different group of monks."

Hermione's eyes opened wide. "What," she exclaimed, "how could they? Where is it? Do they have any idea what they did?"

Harry shook his head in response to her outburst as Daphne gently placed her hand on Hermione's arm to try and get her to settle down. Harry then continued in a quieter tone, "Russia, they sent the lance off with a group of monks to a monastery in Russia. Bloody wild goose chase we're on now I'd say." Daphne now placed her hands on Harry's arm to calm him down before he got riled up.

When she was sure that Harry was not going to go on a tear about the chase they were on, she turned back to their friend as she asked, "So, did your afternoon meet with any more success than ours did?"

Hermione was beaming with excitement now, "Yes, my parents have agreed to meet with me, or rather us, tomorrow evening, after their busy day at work. They still have no idea who I am but they have met me several times now. I told them that this is the last time I will try and help them remember their past, but I think they're doing this just to humour me and get me out of their lives once and for all. Not that I could blame them when this young woman who they don't recognise keeps showing up and telling them what they know of their lives is really a lie."

Daphne noted a tear forming in Hermione's eye and she leaned over and gave her friend a hug. "We'll be there to help you through this tomorrow. And remember, however it all ends up, we'll still be there for you."

Hermione leaned in to accept the hug. After a moment she sat up and wiped her teary eyes. "I know, and I am so grateful that you two are here. Now, let's just order dinner and get out of here."

It didn't seem to take long despite the crowds forming in the pub for the threesome to get their meals and be done and on their way. They were enjoying their stroll along the park at dusk back to the hotel when they noted a crowd that had formed in front of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Harry realised what must be happening and internally moaned at the implications. Hermione spoke up as she cursed out loud, "Bloody hell, this is turning into a media circus. I thought Brimley and Watson weren't going to let this get out of hand!"

"Language, Hermione," chastised Harry who was surprised that his friend was the one to actually curse. "It could just be Skeeter making a scene," he suggested.

Daphne commented, "No, that wouldn't be her style. She might miss a scoop if she did that. But I am sure she must be lurking in the shadows if she is not in the middle of the hoopla that someone is generating. Perhaps we better detour around to the back of the Crowne Plaza, because I suddenly don't like crowds at all."

* * *

The next morning, the three friends awoke to find the British magical ambassador waiting for them in the sitting room of their suite. He tossed a copy of the Daily Prophet onto the table in front of them before anyone was able to muster a question about why he was there in their hotel room.

Harry picked up the paper and looked at headlines as Daphne and Hermione looked over his shoulder.

**England's Best Chaser Dead in Hotel in Australia**, by Rita Skeeter

They skimmed the article which included only minimal details of how Ginny had been found. Of course the article was sensationalising the discovery of her body in the suite of a muggle hotel room. However, there were not as many details about how the body was found as the three had expected they might read in an article written by Skeeter. The end of the article concluded that the Australian DMLE had found no evidence of foul play, that her death was not considered suspicious, but was most likely related to a magical accident that may have been the result of her using mind altering potions.

Towards the bottom of the front page there was another article:

**Dead Chaser's Troubled Life**, by Rita Skeeter

This article documented the tale of Ginny's misadventures, including her run in with muggles in California not too long ago, as well as the reports of her on and off again relationship with Harry Potter. Harry winced as he read the details of their encounter in Diagon Alley that occurred nearly a year ago, shortly after he had first met Daphne. This article concluded with one of the Daily Prophet's typical teaser comments: for more information on Harry Potter see page 3.

On page 3 they found this article:

**Harry Potter, The Boy-Who-Lived, Now the Man in Hiding?**, by Rita Skeeter

This article gave a supposedly factual history of what the Vanquisher of Voldemort was up to since the end of the battle of Hogwarts. It discussed his time in auror training and gave various theories as to why Harry never became an auror, ranging from his inability to do the actual course work without the aid and assistance from Hermione Granger, to Harry being kicked out of auror training for using dark spells, to his teachers not wanting to have someone around who was obviously more qualified to the job than they ever could be. The article delved into his romantic life, including stories of his "affair" with Ginevra Weasley and supposedly not being able to handle her fame as a Quidditch star. Rita once again brought up the rumours of Harry being in a clandestine relationship with Hermione Granger, whose whereabouts had been unknown for some time until it was learned that she was working at the Library of Alexandria. The article finally got around to the rumours of Harry travelling the world with Lady Greengrass, and even suggested that the two may already be secretly married and living in the Mediterranean on a hidden island.

Harry handed the newspaper to the women to review the articles more closely. He then turned to speak with the ambassador who was patiently waiting for the group to react to the various articles. A few minutes later the two witches sat down in chairs around the small table with Harry and Ambassador Feldman.

"So, the news is out that Ginny died," commented Harry, "and we saw all of the press that had gathered outside of the Hyatt Regency last night."

"Yes, we know that you did a good job of not being seen by Skeeter, or she would have had photos of you all on the front page," added the ambassador dryly.

"And trying to create even more sensational headlines if she had seen us," stated Hermione.

"Staying out of sight, or as the muggles would say, 'under the radar' for the next few days would be a great idea," suggested the ambassador. "By the way, the official position from Minister Shacklebolt as to the whereabouts of Harry Potter is that you are a freeman and a hero and are allowed to come and go as you please, within the same rules as govern all of magical society. Skeeter has already tried to find out if you are here in Australia or just where you might be. So far she has only found a report that you were planning on travelling to this country at sometime, as well as evidence that you were here earlier this year."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that comment. "I would have thought that with our travel through various ports on our way here from Israel that it would have been easy for us to have been tracked here. How can there be no proof that Daphne and I are in Australia?"

Feldman's eyes twinkled slightly as he gave a deadpan answer, "I have no idea how that could have happened. My office is quite busy at this time, but if you insist, we might be able to look into that for you, but it would probably be a few weeks before we could spare the time."

Daphne smiled at the comment and then asked the ambassador, "You wouldn't have happened to be in Slytherin House when you were a student, were you?"

The ambassador turned to her as he answered, "I fail to see how my proudly wearing the silver and green as a student has any relevance to this conversation," as he gave her a conspiratorial win. Addressing the entire group he continued, "So, how long will you three be remaining here in Perth? Or even Australia? What are your plans for the remainder of your stay? And do you have travel plans for when you leave? Do you need an international port key arranged?"

Hermione answered first, "We have a dinner meeting with my parents scheduled for this evening."

The ambassador considered this for a moment, and then he asked, "Is there anyway you can reach them through the floo network here? We can make arrangements for a direct connection to help keep you all out of the public eye as much as possible." Turning to Harry he added, "Minister Shacklebolt has requested that we do everything possible to keep your privacy secure."

Harry was glad to hear this. "I am sure we all appreciate Kingsley's concerns and your help with this. I think I may have a way for us to return to England without going through the usual public transportation, so we can look into that a little later today."

Feldman raised an eyebrow at this. "Is there anything you need to help arrange this?" he asked, a little puzzled by Harry's vague statement.

"Oh, just a meeting with the local branch of Gringotts," said Harry with a smile. "I'm sure they will be able to see their way to helping me out."

* * *

The floo connection that was arranged through the British Magical Embassy allowed Hermione, Harry and Daphne to arrive directly at Hermione's parents' home. The group's arrival into the living room of Wendell and Monica Wilkins. The couple were more than a little startled with the sudden arrival of three young adults into their sitting room. As the dust settled from their entrance through the floo, Hermione quickly made introductions.

Hermione's mother stood up and greeted them all with a smile. "It's nice to meet you all, although I am really not sure why this young woman is going through all of this trouble."

Hermione's father stood up and greeted them as well, shaking Harry's hand firmly. "Well, I guess seeing this unusual way to enter into our home is supposed to convince us that this young woman's stories are true, but I still find it a bit odd that if she was truly our daughter that we would have absolutely no memory of her or of our life in England. This magic stuff that she prattles on and on about when she comes by is a little to fantastical for me to believe. No offence to you two, you seem like nice enough people but I just want this to be put behind us."

Hermione was obviously pained to hear her parents talk like this. She was working on keeping her emotions in check as they were about to attempt to reverse the memory charms she had previously cast.

Hermione's mother took her husband by the hand and gently pulled him to sit back down on the sofa. "Very well, you may begin with whatever it is you need to do," she said.

Harry released the Elder Wand from the holder on his forearm and it slid easily into his grip. He offered the wand to Hermione who hesitated to take it from him.

"Are you sure Harry?" she questioned. "It's your wand, it's keyed into you using it as the master of the wand."

Daphne reached out and tenderly rubbed Hermione's shoulder. "It's okay, and you know it," she gently admonished. "You saw Draco use it to heal Harry back when we were in the states."

Hermione nodded in agreement with her words, but then she brought up another argument, "But Draco had been the master of the wand at one time, I've never been this wand's master. Won't that make a difference?"

Harry placed the wand into her hand. "I don't think so, but you should try it first. You're trying to reverse a spell that you cast. It should respond to you just fine." He smiled warmly at her.

Hermione bit her lip as she looked at the wand and twirled it in her fingers. She then silently practiced the words for the reversal spell in her mind several times to make sure she would do it right. Then she waved the wand slightly to see if it would spark, just like when she tested her first wand at Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley over ten years ago. The wand let out an array of gold and red sparks which brought a hopeful smile to her face.

Daphne encouraged her, "See, the wand will respond to you."

Hermione closed her eyes tightly for a moment as she prepared to cast the spell, then she looked at her parents who were patiently waiting quietly on the couch. Finally she said, "Well mum, I'll try you first. Here we go," she said as she proceeded to speak a series of Latin phrases as she did a complex series of wand movements in front of her mother.

The wand emitted a silvery glow that then surrounded her mother and seemed to coalesce around her mother's head. This glowing clear orb then pulsed brighter for a minute before it vanished with a flash of golden light. Everyone shielded their eyes from the brightness of the flash. Hermione opened her eyes to see her mother holding her head in her hands and looking up at her and then over at her husband on the sofa.

"Hermione?" she asked tentatively, "oh my goodness, why did you do that to us? And your father, will it work on him too?"

Hermione was in tears as she lunged forward to entangle her mother in a bear hug. "Oh, mum, it is SO good to have you back! I am so sorry I did this to you and dad, but I was so worried about you at the end of the war."

Hermione's father was a little uncomfortable at this point. "Don't tell me those sparkles she attacked you with have confused you too, now Monica. I'm not sure I like this any more. I thought this was just some simple game and if we agreed to let this young lady have her little fun she would finally leave us alone." He turned back to Hermione and glared at her. "I am not sure I want you waving that stick anywhere near me."

Ellen Granger reached over and took her husbands' hands in her own. "Please, Dan, or Wendell, you need to trust her. Believe me when I tell you I didn't think there was anyway she was telling the truth. But just give her one more chance, for me, your wife." Her pleading caused him to relax only slightly.

Harry was torn between letting this play out and doing something to force Hermione's father to let her cast the reversal spell. However he understood that if he did anything further then he would risk alienating him from his own daughter, as it was apparent that Hermione's mother retained her memories from her time as Monica Wilkins. Harry stepped back away from them all to make it clear that he was not going to involve himself in this family matter. This action by Harry caused Wendell (or Dan) to visibly relax. He was clearly afraid but he turned to his wife as he said, "All right, for you dear, I will let her do it."

Hermione bit her lip again and brushed away her tears of happiness over the success of restoring her mother's memories. "Right, then, let's do this." She repeated the Latin phrase and the wand movements as the silver mist again formed a glowing orb that now surrounded her father's head and pulsed for a minute before vanishing in a golden flash, just like it had happened with her mother. As everyone's eyesight returned to normal the three young friends could see Hermione's parents holding each other tightly in an embrace as they sobbed into each other's shoulder.

Hermione was watching with tears streaming down her face. Harry stepped up beside her and took the Elder Wand out of her hand before she dropped it onto the floor. He then leaned in and whispered into her ear. "We'll leave you to have your reunion with your parents now. You need this time together. We'll see you back at the hotel suite, tomorrow perhaps?"

Hermione turned and gave Harry one of her trademark hugs. She whispered back, "You're the best Harry. Thank you so much. Thank you. Really, I just don't know what else to say."

Harry gave her a kiss on her forehead as he quietly answered, "Don't say anything. Spend the time with your parents. You three need this time together. You don't need Daph and me to get in the way." With that he stepped back and took Daphne by the hand. With a quick flash of floo powder that he had in his pocket they stepped into the floo and back into their hotel room.

* * *

The next morning found Harry and Daphne enjoying a pleasant brunch in their suite as Hermione joined them after returning from spending the night at her parents' home. Harry was glad to see that she was smiling. He waited for her to sit down and then he asked how the rest of her evening had gone with her family.

Hermione shared how she had told her parents the history of the war, of the fallout between her and her former boyfriend, Ronald, and about the adventures she has had over the past year with Harry. Ellen and Dan Granger were happy to have their memories back, but they weren't too keen on the idea of resettling back in England, and they felt it would be best to continue their dental practice here in Australia. Also, it seemed like it would be a little easier to continue to be known as Wendell and Monica Wilkins as all of their papers and identification were currently under those names, and their current friends only knew them by those names. Hermione was also glad that her parents were excited to hear about her work through the Library at Alexandria, as they remembered how much she liked to study and to learn.

After Hermione had finished recounting the main points of her time with her parents, she asked Harry and Daphne about their current plans.

"We were not going to be leaving here until you were either ready to leave yourself or had at least managed to reconnect with your parents," said Harry. "Seeing as how you have accomplished that, then we will be returning to England so we can visit with the Greengrass family before we travel to Russia."

Daphne continued his thoughts, "We probably should pay a visit to the Weasleys at some point, and make sure that we are seen publicly somewhere in England, before we disappear again."

Hermione sighed as she thought about the potential publicity her two friends could be walking into with Rita Skeeter getting stores printed both about Ginny and about Harry. "So, do you have a plan for how you will be returning to England?"

Harry grinned. "Yes, I've already had some quick communication with the goblins. We can do international travel through the bank's networks. All due to the fact that I am supposedly on a special research project for the London branch, so they will be extending me special courtesies as long as I am working for Ragnok."

"That sure sounds convenient for you two," replied Hermione with a slight smirk. "So, when do you two leave?"

Daphne answered first, "That depends, Hermione. How long do you need us to be around? We want to be here for you if you need some friends, but it sure sounds as your being able to restore your parents' memories is all you needed, other than time with them."

By this time Hermione had prepared herself a cup of tea from the array of food and drink that had been brought to the suite for their brunch. She took a sip as she sat down on the sofa and curled her feet underneath her. "I'm good, really. I don't know how I will ever thank you two for all that you have done to help me. You've made this difficult time so much easier and now I have my parents back because of Harry and the Elder Wand." She closed her eyes as she silently thanked the powers that be for the good fortune she had in having such special friends and in having her parents back. She opened her eyes and looked at the young couple as she told them that she was doing well, and that they needed to get on with the next stage of Harry's quest.

Harry was dealing with so many emotions at this time he was speechless. Hermione looked over at him and could see that there was an internal struggle going on. She was about to ask what was wrong when Daphne had moved over next to Harry and wrapped her arm around him.

"I'm sure it's just the combination of everything going on lately," explained Daphne. "What with Ginny showing up and the events that lead to her death, your finally being able to reunite with your parents, and now we need to travel to find the lance that continues to be eluding him, it is just an emotional time."

Harry looked up at Daphne and wondered just when she had learned to read him so well. Hermione used to do that to him when they were students together. Daphne noted the questioning look in his eyes and she answered him, "You're an open book emotionally, Potter. You always have been." She turned to Hermione who understood just what Daphne had been saying. "Add to all of that the fact that once again, Hermione, you have something that he has never had since before he can remember. Your family."

Harry sat up straighter and looked at his fiancé and at Hermione. "No, I have my family, and you're right here with me." Turning back to Hermione he added, "Really I am so happy for you. But we do need to head back to England, and then on to Russia. Maybe we'll spend some time with Daphne's family before we travel again, because we don't want to lose that closeness with family. Ever."

* * *

**AN: In response to the review from N Flamel:**

First off, Harry and Daphne were expecting Hermione to meet with them - they had a suite reserved at the hotel with multiple rooms, which I may not have made clear in the story.

Hermione is reacting from shock. She came into the suite just after the incident happened, so she would have heard the sound of the spell fire. She walks in and sees Ginny dead on the floor in a pile or rubble. She was reacting emotionally to what was in front of her. She may have the emotional range of MORE than a teaspoon, but she still has issues with assuming things.

So yes, she did jump to conclusions but she did ask for an explanation.

She quickly accepts what Harry has said, but she also is quick to summon the Aurors because that is what is done in her mind, let the authorities know. **I hope this helps explain things.**

**Thanks again to everyone for their interest and support for this story...Chapter 19 is being written...as is the outline for Chapters 20 +**

**-Xavras**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Here is the next chapter, delayed slightly by my taking a break and working on "The Dark Lord Potter?" I have also been working on outlining a couple of other stories that have been swimming around in my cranium...more to come eventually on those stories. But my goal is to finish this story and then to finish "The Dark Lord Potter?"**

* * *

Harry and Daphne stepped out of the floo and were greeted by Ragnok. Harry managed to not fall on his face this time, much to Daphne's surprise. Ragnok gave Harry a toothy grin.

"So, Lord Potter, have you acquired the item which you have been seeking?" asked the head of the London branch of Gringotts Bank.

Harry sighed heavily, "No, I feel as though I am on the proverbial wild goose chase at this time. We will soon be travelling again to try and find the item I need, but we will be taking some time to relax with friends and family."

Ragnok eyed him carefully. "Well, Gringotts continues to patiently wait upon the completion of your responsibilities." With that the goblin politely dismissed Harry and Daphne from his presence.

The young couple then used the floo to return to Potter Manor. Harry was relieved to be back at home again and he was glad that they were not going to be staying in a hotel any time soon. He immediately sat down on one of the sofas in the lounge and let out a long sigh. Daphne curled up next to him and gave him a big hug for a moment before kissing him quickly and then standing up and walking back over to the floo.

"Now what are you up to?" asked Harry.

"I'm just checking in with my parents," she said. "I was thinking they might like to know that we're back in England. I'm sure the news of what happened to Ginny must have reached back here by now."

Harry nodded in agreement, "I see your point, Daph, and I suppose we'll have to make an appearance there, at your parents' that is."

Daphne bit her lip as she thought about Harry's comment. "You don't want to go visit my mum and dad?" she asked, not hiding the feeling of being hurt. She realised that she was letting her emotions out in front of Harry, something that she had been noticing for some time when she was with Harry.

"No," protested Harry, "that's not what I meant at all. I'm just tired. I am so looking forward to getting this whole mess behind us, and maybe just leaving the magical world behind. No death eaters, no dark lords, no obsessed fan girls, no wands, just the two of us and no worries."

Daphne eyed the roguish looking young man reclining on the sofa in front of her. "I suppose I could get used to that," she said with a smirk. She gave him a wink and then turned back to the floo, tossed some floo powder in and called out to Greengrass Manor. It was only a few moments later that an excited Astoria had answered her. Soon her mother was chatting with her through the fireplace and they had made arrangements to join her parents for dinner the next day at the home where she had grown up. Astoria had suggested that Harry and Daphne could join her and Draco for dinner that night at a restaurant, as she really wanted to catch up with Daphne. The elder Greengrass sister turned and asked Harry if he would be up for that, and he gave a quick nod that he would, particularly if he was able to just relax the rest of the afternoon.

Several hours later the group was meeting together at a restaurant in Diagon Alley.

The four had greeted each other warmly and then they sat down to dinner. Draco had a smug look on his face, and Harry couldn't let it pass. "What's on your mind Draco?" he asked his Slytherin friend. "I've seen that look before, it used to be when you thought you had me framed for something to either lose house points or to get me a detention. What's got your evil grin started this time?"

Draco wandlessly cast some privacy charms around their table. At his doing this, Daphne raised an eyebrow. Draco noted her reaction and commented simply, "One of the perks of being an auror, certain wandless spells are easy to use, and not to mention down right convenient." He turned back to Harry. "We've all read the stories in the Daily Prophet. We know you two were down in Australia. What the bloody hell happened? And don't give me the load of hippogriff dung that the Australian ministry has sold the public."

Harry looked at Daphne, trying to discern if she thought he should tell them the real story. She silently nodded in response. Harry sighed, and then he asked, "Do I need to get a magical vow that neither one of you will tell a soul?"

Draco sneered. "I think that won't be necessary, either from the woman who will hopefully be your sister-in-law before too long, nor from me. As an auror, I have to be able to keep the strictest confidences. You know that. You were nearly an auror anyways. You should know all about that."

"Very well, then" answered Harry. "Daphne and I went down to Perth to try and recover St. George's lance, and to also try and help Hermione with her parents. Apparently, the weasel told his sister that I was heading off to Australia and she decided that she would follow us there."

"What?" Asked Astoria, "Why? What was she playing at?"

Daphne snorted, "Oh come on, she's been obsessed with the boy-who-lived since before she ever went to Hogwarts."

Harry rolled his eyes at that statement.

"Well, it's true," Daphne said defending her statement. "Even if the Slytherins didn't have any interest in you, or any Gryffindors for that matter, we all could see the way she fawned over you all those years. Not to mention her attempts to make you jealous with her various boy friends. Everyone noticed she would only snog someone when you were around. It was all pretty pathetic."

Harry was surprised as he never heard any of this before.

Astoria nodded as she lent her voice to agree with Daphne. "She was your biggest fangirl at Hogwarts, Harry. Even more so than Millicent ever was."

Harry's face reddened. "Bulstrude?"

Draco laughed, "It was kind of ridiculous. And Pansy and the rest of the Slytherin girls were merciless to her for years about the whole thing. I guess it wasn't her fault, as her parents had given her the entire set of the Boy-Who-Lived adventure books. It's all she talked about as we were heading to bed for the first couple of years. Kind of sad in its own way."

Harry just shook his head. "Too many images I don't want in my head with those comments." Draco laughed again.

Then Harry continued, "So, Daphne and I checked into our hotel. A wonderful suite with a gorgeous view of the bay…"

"River," corrected Daphne.

"Yeah, river," agreed Harry as he gave Daphne a fake glare. "So, we went to check out this park across the street from the hotel, I decided to head back to our room while my fashion diva decided to check on shopping around the area." His comment resulted in a slap on the arm from the fashion diva. He looked at her and smiled innocently, "But you do look marvellous, my little diva."

He was rewarded with a chaste kiss on his cheek. "That's enough of trying to butter me up, Potter, now tell the story," she admonished.

"As I was saying," continued Harry, "I returned to the room to find that someone had gained access to the suite. The fact that this individual was naked, just happened to be a bit embarrassing."

Draco again smirked, but Astoria now slapped him on the arm and turned to Harry. "She didn't?" she asked rhetorically. "What a shameless bitch!"

"So this red-headed she-devil decides to make her intentions more than clear. She implied that she was willing to take me back and forgive me for breaking up with her and that she hoped that my current girlfriend, and I will not repeat the words she used to describe Daphne," he added as he gently squeezed his fiancé's hand, "she hoped that she would walk in and catch us with her in the all together. Which sadly, is exactly what happened."

Draco was shaking his head, "Now that's an image _I_ need to get out of _my_ head."

Daphne added, "But it's one I can't get out of mine, no matter how much I wish I could."

Astoria chuckled as she quipped, "We could always obliviate you, and we could even obliviate your whole relationship with Harry while we're at it."

The glare from Daphne towards her sister silenced the whole group. "Or not," added Astoria meekly.

"So, as I was saying," said Harry, trying to regain the flow of the conversation, "Daphne walked in and then the proverbial flabber-worm hit the fan. Weaslette cast a curse at Daphne. I believe that the aurors who came to investigate stated that she used a _reducto_, probably the _reducto maximo_, but I had no time to react other than to cast a protection shield in front of Daphne."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "You had the Elder Wand with you, didn't you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"I had it with me to help Hermione with restoring her parents memory," confirmed Harry. "The spell that she had cast rebounded off of the _protego_ shield. The result was not pretty." Harry's whole countenance fell as he remembered the scene all too vividly.

Draco did not respond with a quip or a snide comment. He looked at Harry and took the time to consider his next words before speaking. "You did what you had to mate," he said calmly as he reached across the table and grasped Harry by the arm. "Your auror training taught you that, if all the previous training you had before hadn't prepared you to do just that."

Harry sighed, "But she died because of that."

Draco started to become irritated as he gave Harry and Daphne a stern look. "You know that the truth to all of this is that if you hadn't done that, then your gorgeous girlfriend and my potential sister-in-law would not be here. It's part of your saving people thing. Don't you ever think any thing else about what happened."

The waitress had come by to take their orders by now, so Draco dismissed the privacy charms. As they finished placing their orders, they were all blinded by a flash. As their vision slowly returned to normal, Harry noted Rita Skeeter and her photographer were behind the waitress. Harry's eyes flashed a vivid and intense green as his anger started to rise in response to this invasion of privacy.

Before Harry or Draco could say anything, Skeeter's saccharine voice began to irritate their eardrums. "Oh, how sweet, the Boy-Who-Lived with his girlfriend and her sister and his enemy, what a wonderful picture this will make."

Harry glared at the reporter. Before he could say anything, Skeeter continued, "And young Mr. Malfoy, having dinner with his rival. You used to be such a helpful source in the past when you were a student, any juicy quotes you have for me tonight? If it's good enough, I can almost guarantee a front page story and an eye catching headline!"

Draco was about to say something, when Harry reached over and gently tapped him on the arm. "Draco, how would the DMLE investigate a story of unregistered animagi?"

Draco turned and gave Harry a confused look. Skeeter glared at Harry, but said nothing. Harry then spoke to the reporter. "I am sure that you would have little to write about other than two pure-blood young witches from an old and respected family are having a pleasant social visit with their respective boyfriends." Harry looked around the room once and then smiled back at the reporter. "I think everyone here would like to get back to enjoying their meals. I know I would. And I would really hope that on my way home this evening I won't run into any pesky insects, as they can be quite irritating. But then again the need to squish a bug can become quite overwhelming, but I suppose it could be quite satisfying."

The reporter's cheeks flushed. It seemed she had forgotten the lesson she had learned several years ago from Hermione Granger. The new fame she had received from the various sensational stories regarding the disgrace of a famous English quidditch player and her shocking death in Australia must have gone to her head. She was feeling invincible again and was looking to gain more notoriety with her stories, and a juicy gossip story about Harry Potter would only help her rise to prominence once again in the magical journalism ranks.

With a sigh she resigned herself to only having a photo of the foursome to publish in the paper without any sensational story to go along with it, but at least she would have that, as Harry Potter hadn't been seen in magical England much at all over the past year.

* * *

The next day found Harry and Daphne at the Greengrass home enjoying dinner with her family. Jonathan had been telling Harry how the businesses had been doing over the past year. The import and export business had been thriving, and Harry's various holdings had prospered as well. Jonathan and Harry are finishing their discussion of the family businesses as Isabella was preparing to serve the main course of their meal.

As Isabella sat down at the table, she looked at Daphne and then at Harry as she asked them a question. "So, Harry, I read that you knew this quidditch player, this Weasley girl, do you know what really happened to her?"

Harry became tense as he looked over at Daphne. He was definitely feeling uncomfortable about this and he could see that Jonathan was also pointedly interested in his response. Astoria, who had heard the story the day before had become uncomfortable as she could feel the tension rise in the room. Before Harry could say anything, Isabella began to answer her own question as she stated a simple, "Oh my."

Daphne looked at Harry and refused to look at either her mother or her father. Harry in turn gazed down at the plate in front of him and then after a moment he looked back up at Isabella. He could feel Jonathan's gaze fixed on him in anticipation of his answer.

"The short answer," Harry began, "is yes, we do know what really happened to her." Harry paused and then he looked directly at Jonathan. "Part of what the articles stated is true. At one time I had been dating Ginny Weasley, but that relationship had ended quite some time before Daphne and I met last year."

Isabella scrunched her eyebrows together as she looked at Harry. "But I thought you and Daphne knew each other in school."

Harry let out a deep breath at this, and then he replied to Daphne's mother. "Well, we knew who each other was, from a distance. But it was almost a year ago when we ran into each other at a muggle pub. But as I was saying, I had broken up with Ginny quite some time before that. In fact, before Daphne and I had started dating, when we had only just started to become friends, I did have an encounter with Miss Weasley in Diagon Alley, as the paper described. She accused me of cheating on her, but I wasn't dating anyone and I had not been dating Ginny for many months."

Jonathan coughed slightly, "So, that much we had gathered from the stories in the paper. The Skeeter woman has been known to occasionally have a fact or two that might be correct. But what happened in Australia?"

Harry now looked at Jonathan as he continued his explanation of the events. "We had told you that Daphne and I were heading to Australia, to Perth, to try and find an artefact, and to help our friend with her parents. It seems that Ginny had been informed of our travels and she decided to follow us there. She snuck into our hotel room…"

Jonathan interrupted Harry. "You and Daphne were sharing a bed?" he asked indignantly.

"No sir," replied Harry, "we had rented a suite, with separate rooms. You can even confirm this with the hotel sir." Harry was becoming increasingly nervous at this point.

Astoria tried to hold back her giggles at the embarrassment that Harry and Daphne were now feeling. Daphne seemed to be getting red in the face as she snapped at her father, "Papa, you raised me better than that! I would have thought you knew that! I can't believe you would think anything like that about me! About us!"

Jonathan was slightly surprised by her response. "Well, Daphne, young people these days, you do things differently then we did."

Isabella rolled her eyes at her husband. "No, they don't!" she said sharply to Jonathan.

Now Astoria and Daphne turned slightly red in the cheeks and Jonathan retorted, "More the reason for me to be suspicious then. Enough of this. So, as you were saying then Harry, this woman entered your room."

Harry then went on to explain that Ginny had come to their room and how she had stated that her goal was to 'win Harry back' and to drive away Daphne.

"She actually said that?" asked an incredulous Isabella.

"Yes, mum," Daphne answered for Harry. "She did not see that I had entered the room, she thought she was telling Harry all of this, with just the two of them there."

Isabella shook her head as she considered this information. "But, wait a minute, the paper said that she was…"

Astoria commented under her breath, "Here it comes…be prepared to duck."

Draco, who was sitting to her right, heard this statement and had a confused look on his face. Daphne started to cover her face with her hands. Harry had barely registered what Astoria had said when Isabella nearly screamed.

"That means that Weasley woman was naked in your hotel room as this was going on?" Isabella was turning red in the cheeks now. Jonathan wasn't sure whether he should laugh or be angry, but he quickly realised that laughing out loud would only lead to problems later.

"That would be correct," stated Harry as simply as possible.

Isabella shook her head as she gasped silently. She then looked back at Harry and Daphne. "Well, then, so she was in a certain state of undress, but then what happened?"

"She saw Daphne had come into the room, she became quite angry and she summoned her wand and cast a spell at Daphne," answered Harry simply.

"But the article stated that she had done something that killed herself.

Daphne sighed as she placed her hands on the table on either side of her dinner plate. "That was when Harry cast a shield spell, to protect me, and then her spell rebounded off of the shield and struck her down."

Harry reached over and gently took Daphne's hand in his. "Ginny did cast the spell that killed her," he added sombrely.

Jonathan was deep in contemplation for a few moments and then he turned to Harry. "You cast a shield spell that was strong enough to rebound a curse that killed her. What spell did she cast?"

"Just a _reducto_ spell, sir," answered Harry.

"Your shield spell has the power to do something like that?" asked an astonished Lord Greengrass.

Draco smirked, "You have _no_ idea." Draco let out a laugh finally, "I'm sorry Scarhead, but the more I hear this story, the more I find it humorous. Maybe I'm evil or something…"

Harry cut in and stated, "But you are Draco, you are."

Draco sneered briefly at Harry and then he continued, "Maybe I am, but there is some sort of twisted satisfaction in that ending."

Harry shook his head slightly.

Jonathan pressed on for more information. "But then why was there no mention of either of you in the story and why did they make up all of this about illegal potions and shady dealings?"

Daphne smiled at her father, "It helps when Harry is so well connected with the Ministry, even to the point of influence on the Australian Magical Government."

Harry added, "Besides, they did not make up anything about the potions, that part of the story was true."

Isabella frowned as she looked over at Daphne and Harry. "But the Weasley family, weren't you close to them when you were in school? What about the funeral? Won't you be going?"

Harry ran a hand through his long hair, which was easier to manage after he had grown it out. "I did spend some time with them back when we were in school. However, I think that at this time I should best keep my distance. I believe that it would be too distracting if I were to show up."

Isabella nodded her head in agreement, "With what you shared tonight, I think that would be a wise thing to do. So, what is next on your agenda for world travelling? I haven't heard anything about Harry having finished with his 'mission' for the goblins."

"Russia," stated Harry in response. "We travel to Russia, next week. Hopefully we will be able to finish this whole mess with the goblins soon, as long as things go well."

* * *

Harry and Daphne had a quiet couple of days visiting with her family before they embarked on the next leg of their journey and headed to Russia. The tall white tower of the St. Yuriev Monastery arose in front of them. The winding Vohlkov River passed just beyond the edge of the outer walls of the monastery grounds. The shiny metal dome on the top of the belfry caught the attention of both Harry and Daphne as they walked up to the entrance of the enclosed community. Harry commented to Daphne how the blue domes on the towers of the cathedral stuck out in contrast to the white walls of the buildings and towers.

As they got closer to the gate, Daphne commented. "And just what are we going to do if no one here speaks English? Have you been learning Russian on the side?"

Harry smiled slightly, "I have no idea what we are going to do if they can't speak English. Do you know any magical translating spells?"

"No such luck, Potter," replied Daphne.

They arrived at the gate, and there was a man in dark robes standing there, almost like a guard at attention. "Excuse me sir," asked Harry a little timidly, "I was hoping that I could meet with the abbot about something rather important to me and my fiancé."

The man stood still and just stared at the two for a moment, eyeing them carefully.

Daphne turned to Harry, "Well, this looks like it will be tougher than you had hoped, he doesn't speak English."

The man coughed slightly, "No, it is okay. I do speak some English."

Harry and Daphne turned and faced the man. "Could we speak with the priest? With the abbot?" asked Harry again.

"The abbot is a very busy man, my friend," answered the man at the gate. "We have many people coming here to visit our monastery. Perhaps you like to take tour with others? While you take the tour, I can see if the abbot is busy."

Harry smiled at the man and then turned to Daphne. "I guess we start with a tour of the monastery."

An hour later, the tour that they were on was coming to an end just inside the narthex of the cathedral. Harry and Daphne had been impressed with the beauty of the icons that went up all of the walls and even onto the ceilings and the arches and inside the domes within the church. They were about to leave the narthex when a monk in light coloured robes came up to them and gently placed his hand on Harry's arm.

"The reverend abbot will meet with you two now, if you would just follow me." The soft spoken man had a better command of English than did the man they had encountered at the gate. They followed him to a room in a building near the cathedral. They waited for about fifteen minutes, and then the doors burst open and a man with a thick grey beard, a black cassock and large gold cross hang ing around his neck walked into the room. Harry thought that the black hat with the flattened top looked a little odd, but he held back any sort of comment or reaction.

"My friends," greeted the abbot, "it is most unusual that a visitor to our humble monastery states they need to speak with me as the very first comment they make upon arriving at the gates. I was intrigued to meet you two. What brings such pilgrims as yourselves to our home?"

Harry was immediately put at ease by the gentle tone of the man and his words. The abbot had walked across the room and offered his hand. Harry was grateful he had read up a little about the Orthodox Church, and he realised he was meant to grasp the priest's hand and kiss it, which he did in greeting. "Thank you father abbot," stated Harry, "my name is Harry Potter, and this is Daphne Greengrass. My fiancé and I have travelled a long way in search of an artefact. A very important one that we had hoped we might find here."

The abbot's smile left his face. "Items that belong to the monastery are items we are not in the habit of giving away," answered the abbot as he took a seat across the table from Harry and Daphne.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the token of St. George. He slid it across the table to the abbot. In response the abbot merely smiled until he took a closer look at the coin in front of him. His eyes widened as he carefully picked up the token. "You surprise me even more, my young friend." He slid the token back across the table to Harry. "The item which you seek is here. I can only assume that there is an important task which you are undertaking that requires the use of this item. If there is anyway possible that this item could eventually be returned here, then we would be most pleased. However, I fully understand that your needs for this item, based on your simply having this token clearly outweighs our desire to keep this esteemed relic. It has been our honour to be the place that has held the item for many years." The abbot arose from the table.

Harry was slightly puzzled but also overjoyed. "So, when can I have the item?" he asked cautiously.

"Come back in 40 days, on Nativity, when we have finished our fast that starts today," answered the abbot.

"Nativity," asked a puzzled Harry, "do you mean Christmas?"

"Yes, the feast of the nativity of our Lord," answered the abbot, a little surprised at the question.

Harry turned to Daphne who seemed equally confused. Then he looked back at the abbot. "But 40 days, isn't that in January?" Harry was trying to do the calendar calculations in his head.

The abbot smiled at him and laughed. "You are a westerner, you use the Gregorian calendar and not the Julian calendar, or 'old' calendar. There is a 13 day difference between these calendars. In our church calendar, it is only November 15, and forty days from now will be the nativity. I will place the item you seek on the altar so that it will be blessed and after those 40 days are over, then you may come and collect the lance."

Harry and Daphne smiled at the abbot, and then at each other. "Thank you, father," said Harry sincerely. "We will see you back then, on the feast of the Nativity, in 40 days."

* * *

Christmas at Potter Manor and at the Greengrass Estate was a pleasant and relaxing time. The holiday was more relaxed and joyous than any Harry could remember for some time as he was getting close to completing his goal. The lance of St. George the Dragon Slayer, Ascalon, was nearly in his grasp.

The Potter and Greengrass businesses were doing well and the days were approaching for when Harry and Daphne would have to return to Novgorod to finally obtain the lance. Harry and Daphne were walking through Diagon Alley on a sunny and unseasonably warm December afternoon when they ran into Ron Weasley. Harry was dreading this encounter, and soon he ha confirmed just why he was not looking forward to seeing his old friend again.

"Still with the slimy snake," said Ron.

Daphne looked away from Ron as she felt Harry's arm tense around her waist.

"I thought you had been able to move beyond that, Ronald," said Harry, is voice stern and tense.

"That was until you or your harlot killed my sister," snapped Ron.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, wondering just how much Ron really knew of the story.

"Oh, come off it," Ron snapped again. "We both know that you went to Perth. That you two were there in Perth when Ginny went there. She went to see you, I am sure of that. So why did you have to kill her, Potter?"

Daphne squeezed Harry's hand tightly and spoke under her breath, "You don't need to go there with him, Harry. Don't let him bait you."

Harry glared at Ron. "I figured it was you who told her where we had gone, that we had travelled to Australia."

Ron returned the glare. "So it was you who killed her. So why did you do it? You used to love her. You used to be with her. Or was it that snake by your side who actually killed her? Is that why you wouldn't come to the funeral? The whole family wondered where you were. Mum, she said you were like a son to her, you were supposed to be a part of our family, but you stayed away. Why? Because you are embarrassed to be seen with the Death Eater heiress? Or did you grow to hate those who cared for you?"

Harry was bewildered by Ron's rant. He was staring at his former best mate and he had not noticed that George had come out from his store and was standing behind Ron. He had been there long enough to hear Ron's accusations, which he found disturbing, but he kept quiet as he wanted to hear Harry's reply.

"Ron, did you take too many bludgers to your head?" asked an astonished Harry. "You're making no sense at all anymore. I was never in love with your sister. That is a sad fact that Ginny would never accept or believe. She was living in a fantasy world, and I have no idea how she got there. You read the reports from Australia, I am sure, she cast the curse herself that killed her. Your sister was having a difficult time. Why else would she stalk me and chase me down in Australia?"

"That's not the point here, Harry," interrupted Ron.

"No, Ron, that is exactly the point," argued Harry. "Are you too stupid to see that she was obsessed? That she was not thinking right? I don't know if it was just some pathologic attraction or if she was truly addled from taking too many potions, but she was not herself. She hadn't been herself ever since Fred died. The fame from playing quidditch didn't help her either." Harry let out a big sigh. "She brought it on herself," he added as he looked pleadingly at Ron. "When will you open your eyes and see the truth that was before you for what it is? Your sister was responsible for her own actions that lead to that fateful evening in Perth. Not me. Not Daphne. It was all on Ginny. I am sorry, Ron, but that is the honest truth."

Ron was about to argue again, when George stepped forward and gently put his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"Let it go Ron," he said gently as he tried to give a nod and a smile to Harry. "Harry was your best mate, you know and I know, hell the whole family knows that it was not Harry's fault."

Ron spun and now turned his venom on his brother. "If it wasn't Harry's fault than why did he not come to the funeral? Why would he avoid us?"

Ron spun back to face Harry, shrugging off his brother's hold on him. "Are the Weasleys no longer good enough for Lord Potter?"

The sting in Ron's words was felt by everyone who overheard them. "No, Ron, but I am NOT a Weasley. That time at the funeral for you and your family. Lord Potter, the bloody boy-who-lived showing up would have only turned it into a circus, and taken the focus off of Ginny, your sister, and your family's sadness. You really did not want me to be there. Someday, you may be able to see the truth in what I'm telling you."

George spoke up first, "We know Harry, we know. Sometimes it takes ickle Ronniekins a little while to sort things through. I blame Fred and myself for that one, we must have experimented on him too much when he was younger. Addled the mind a little I think."

Ron was about to say something more, when George grabbed him tightly on the shoulder. "No, Ron, let it go. Let Harry be. Everyone else at home knows and understands the truth." He pulled his brother back and redirected him to go back into the shop. Turning back to Harry, he spoke again, "Believe me Harry, we do understand. Someday, when every one is feeling a little less raw about everything, I am sure mum would love to have you come by, for a visit, and a meal, for old time's sake. I'll keep on eye on this prat for you." Turning to Daphne he gave a smile as he added, "Sorry that you had to see that. And hear that."

Harry and Daphne smiled back at George as they made their way down Diagon Alley.

"That actually could have gone worse," said Harry as they walked away.

"Yeah," agreed Daphne, "it could have gone a lot worse."

* * *

**AN: So, Harry should actually obtain the lance, Ascalon, in the next chapter...which means the story is heading towards its conclusion...hopefully anyways...**

**The Dark Lord Potter is continuing. I will not plan to upload other stories until these two are done.  
**

**Thanks again to everyone for your reading, your reviews, and the favorites. I appreciate all of the support.  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: To those who have read/reviewed the story and do not like the way I have portrayed Harry and Daphne's relationship, all I have to say is that there are some who still have conservative or "old-fashioned" views on relationships. This is my story based on JKR's characters, and I am writing it the way I see fit. Also, I am truly getting closer to the end of the story….I am not sure how many more chapters to go, probably 2 or 3, maybe 4. I might include an "epilogue", or not. To everyone, may you have a happy and blessed New Year. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and everything.**

* * *

New Year's Eve once again found Harry and Daphne at a small party at Neville's home, Longbottom Manor. Neville was hosting a much smaller affair this year, as he hoped to avoid the unpleasantness of unwelcome guests such as they had experienced the year before.

Harry and Daphne had arrived with Draco and Astoria. Hannah Abbott had greeted them when they stepped out of the floo. Harry looked around and noted that Susan Bones was there, again she was accompanied by Ernie McMillan, and Harry recalled that he had seen the two of them talking last year at Neville's party.

Neville came into the room to greet them as well, nearly tripping as he crossed the threshold. Draco smirked as he commented, "Now that's more like the squib I remember from first year."

Ernie and Susan glared at Draco, but before they could comment about the rudeness of Malfoy he had walked over and grasped Neville in a hug. "How are you doing my good friend?" asked Draco. "It's been a while since our time at Scarhead's place near Greece."

Neville hugged him briefly and smiled back at Draco. "Well, I got to thinking about that, and so I had the house elves prepare some of those Greek foods we all learned to like so much. It's all set out on a table in the other room."

With that, Neville turned to lead the way. Susan grabbed Hannah by the arm, "Wait, when did Draco and Neville become friends, and when did he become nice?"

Ernie sidled up next to Hannah and Susan, "I was surprised last year when Harry showed up with the ferret and vouched for him, and now he's friends with Neville. What gives?"

Hannah rolled her eyes at her two fellow Hufflepuffs. "We all spent some time together with Harry and Daphne last summer. It was a beautiful and romantic location. I think we all became closer friends while we were there." Her tone had an almost dream like quality to it.

Susan raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like more happened there than just fun in the Mediterranean sun."

Hannah smiled wistfully as she responded, "Anything more than that is not for me to tell. It is Harry's story. We were all there for Harry." Susan frowned at the thought of her friend keeping secrets from her, but she smiled politely and then she took Ernie by the hand as they followed Hannah into the other room and rejoin the small group of friends.

The others were already enjoying some of the Greek delicacies and chattering among themselves. When Hannah walked in with Susan and Ernie, Neville grinned at his friends who had joined him for the little get together. He walked over to Hannah and whispered in her ear. Hannah's immediate response was to quietly shake her head with an empathic yes, as a large smile graced her face. Neville then cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone.

"Friends, I would like to take this moment to share with you all something that is very important to me, and to Hannah." With the eyes of everyone in the room on him, Neville wandlessly summoned a small box to his hand. He turned to face Hannah, as he continued, "I know I already asked you earlier this week," and with that he got down on bended knee in front of her, as he opened the box, "but now, in front of our friends, Hannah Abbott, would you do me the honour of becoming the Lady Longbottom, and marry me?" As he said this he deftly opened the box and produced a diamond engagement ring.

Hannah, with tears in her eyes, declared, "And again, Neville, I say yes." She then leaned over and gave him a kiss.

The gathered friends cheered as the women all gave Hannah a hug and examined the ring closely. The men gathered around Neville and clapped him on the back. He then looked at the three friends who had joined him and his smile faded as he became more serious. "I would be honoured if you three would be at the wedding," he stated, and then he turned to Harry. "While I would like all of you to be there, as my groomsmen, I have a special favour to ask of Harry. Harry, would you be my best man?"

Harry's green eyes sparkled in excitement at the honour he was being asked by his good friend. "It would be my sincere pleasure," Harry assured his friend as he gave him a big hug. Then he whispered into Neville's ear, "Perhaps we can arrange for you to wear the Sword of Gryffindor on your side for the wedding."

Neville stepped back slightly and looked at Harry with concern. "We could do that?" he asked, clearly doubting the possibility.

"We can always try," replied Harry with an impish grin. "If we just can get the sorting hat to the wedding, it should work."

The group of friends then toasted Hannah and Neville. Soon the conversations drifted away from the upcoming wedding to adventures that several of them had on the island earlier that summer.

Susan spoke up when she asked Harry and Neville, "So, you two young lords, what _did_ happen this summer when you were in Greece?"

The room became silent, and all eyes turned to face Harry. Daphne was sitting close by and quickly grasped his hand and gave it a tender squeeze. Harry then rubbed the bridge of his nose slightly as he prepared to answer the question. Daphne could tell that he was feeling a little uneasy, so she spoke up in response. "I'm sure Harry won't mind talking about some of the things too much, but it is kind of personal." She paused and looked at the other four friends who had joined them for the trip.

"No, it's okay," interjected Harry. "Susan and Ernie can hear about it." He looked at the two classmates from Hogwarts and smiled, "It was just a simple adventure. But like all of the adventures I have had before, even back when we were in school, I could never do it alone. I have always had help."

Ernie smiled at this, "That's what you told us when you started the DA back in fifth year. I still remember what you said to Zacharias that day."

Harry gave Ernie a slight nod to thank him for his comments.

Hannah still felt that there was some tension in the room. "How about we take the focus off of Harry, and make a game out of it? Harry can answer Susan's question, and then we can all take turns asking someone something, even if it is rather personal."

There was an awkward silence, and then Hannah continued. "Muggles have a game that they play — called truth or dare. When you have your turn you can ask someone to answer a question truthfully or you can make them take dare, dare them to do something embarrassing or something."

Astoria spoke up first, "I don't think I like the dare part at all."

Ernie joined in, "I don't know if any one else here has as many secrets to tell as Harry would."

Draco snorted slightly at that. The other people in the room all stared at Draco.

Starting to turn slightly red at the sudden attention, "Hey, you have three Slytherins here with you, and you think Harry is the only one with secrets?"

Susan sat slightly closer to Ernie as she snapped a reply to Draco, "I wouldn't think that former Slytherins would divulge any of their secrets."

Daphne tried to calm the tension down as she added, "I am sure that there are plenty of 'juicy' stories out there for people to tell, regardless of what house we were in at school."

Draco turned to face Susan as he tried to soften his response with a smile, "I would think that anyone from Hufflepuff would agree that the two students in our year who probably had the most stories to tell would be me and Harry. However, no offence to any of you, but there are just some things I will not discuss with anyone." Then he turned to look at Harry, "Not even you," he added with a wry grin.

Harry smiled back at Draco and then he turned to Susan. "It's all right Sue. About this past summer, I needed some help with a little project I had to complete. I needed to deal with a chimera."

Susan put her hand to her mouth and gasped. "You mean the group of you went and hunted down a chimera? But that's crazy."

"And foolhardy and dangerous," added Ernie. "You are lucky no one got killed doing that."

Draco laughed at the comment.

"What's so funny about that?" asked Susan.

"We didn't kill the chimera," answered Draco. "We only had to get some of its venom." His answer was simple and he made his comment with a finality as though he had explained it all.

Neville chuckled at the comments and then he leaned closer to Susan and Ernie, "Heck, if Harry only had to kill the thing, I am sure he wouldn't have needed any of our help."

Daphne added to Neville's comments, "He saved the nearly dying thing for when he confronted the dragon all by himself the next month."

Then Draco added, "He also tried to do that back in the states in the spring, you can't leave that story out."

Astoria hit Draco on his arm. "Which part? The part about how he nearly died or the part about how you had to be the hero and go help heal him?"

Susan's jaw dropped at this comment, and then Draco quipped, "Hey, I didn't ask to go help old green eyes, I was dragged there by the bookworm and your sister," he said glaring at Astoria.

Astoria gave him s wry smile, "But you were oh so helpful," she added with a chuckle.

Draco frowned, "Stop it, you've already damaged my reputation enough this evening."

The group of friends laughed together at this.

Ernie then spoke up, "Hey, it is kind of amazing after all, Malfoy and Potter, friends after all of these years. What with the Malfoy fame and money and Harry and his raggedy clothes, it just seems kind of funny."

A silence fell over the group. Susan was embarrassed to be sitting next to Ernie and hid her face in her hands. Hannah covered her mouth in shock. The others were just silent. Draco's eyes were cast down for a moment as he stiffened at the comment. Harry squeezed Daphne's hand as he tried to figure what to say.

After a several awkward moments, Neville spoke up. "I think that was a little out of line, Ernie," he said softly, trying to not come across harsh with his words.

Susan looked over to Hannah as she wished that she had not decided to come over for the party.

Harry, feeling there was still tension in the room, spoke up next. "Hey, it's all right, at least from my point of view. I didn't have much when I started at Hogwarts, just the poor excuse for clothes that my aunt and uncle allowed me to have. I had no idea that I actually had more than enough money to buy new clothes back then."

Harry's admission and light-hearted tone caused met everyone to relax. Everyone except Draco who was still staring into the glass he held in his hand. He soon realised that everyone was staring at him. He laughed at himself as he realised that when he was a student at Hogwarts, he always tried to make himself the centre of attention, usually at someone else's expense. And he preferred that it would be Harry Potter back then. Draco glanced over at Astoria and noted the look of concern in her eyes. He tried to smile back at her, but it came off as more of a smirk.

Draco looked at Ernie McMillian who was more than a little uncomfortable at this time. Then he looked to Harry and then to Neville. Letting out a slow breath he turned back to Ernie as he spoke, "Well, there was a time when my money and my family meant something to me. Or at least I thought it did. But there was only so many bribes my father could pay off from the time of the first war through our time at school and the end of Tom Riddle." Draco took a deep breath and then he continued, now looking more over at Harry, with an almost apologetic look on his face. "Since the end of the war, the Malfoy family and name has been ruined. What money or possessions we had left have been nearly completely confiscated by the ministry for reparations. The once proud Malfoy Manor is now a dreary mausoleum. After Riddle used it as the base of his operations for the last couple of years of his war, it is not a place that either my mother or I choose to ever return to. That is something which I am sure Scarface here would readily understand."

Another awkward silence fell upon the small group of friends. Harry was about to say something, but Draco waved his hand to silence Harry as he continued. "So, there is no Malfoy fortune, my father completely destroyed any honour that the Malfoy name once had. All that I have left is what I can do for myself through honest work," and then he glanced over at Astoria, "and a marriage contract that needs to be fulfilled so that neither myself nor Astoria will lose our magic." Quickly he added, "And that marriage contract has allowed me to get to know the most wonderful and caring woman I have ever met."

Draco looked at Astoria as he hoped that he had not upset her with what he had said. Then he turned to face Harry. "And as a result, I have gained a friend whom I once considered a rival. Or at least I considered him an arrogant prat."

The group laughed at Draco's comment, until Neville interrupted, "No Draco, that was you when we started school, you were the arrogant prat!"

Draco gave a false sneer at Neville as he quipped in reply, "And you started Hogwarts as a chubby squib who was scared of his own shadow, which is just more proof how all of us can and did change over the years." He then turned and looked over at Susan Bones. "The war affected all of us, and some of us came out the better for it, we all lost people who were important to us." Susan gave a weak smile in return, and then Draco continued, "And all of us have scars of one sort or another from the war," and with a glance at Harry he added, "it is just that some of us choose to display our scars more prominently than others."

Harry conjured a small pillow and threw it at Draco.

Susan Bones shook her head slightly, "I never thought that I would hear Draco Malfoy wax philosophical, and show that he actually has emotions. From what I have heard from Hannah, it sounds as if you would have made a pretty good Hufflepuff if you had been sorted in to our house at Hogwarts."

Draco winced as he recalled his words to Harry all of those years ago when they had first met in Madam Malkins' shop. He looked over at Harry who seemed about to say something, but Draco cut him off. "Don't you say anything, Potter," he snapped. Then he turned to Susan, "Well, Lady Bones, I will take that as the complement that you meant, and just ignore the muttering Gryffindor over there."

Astoria leaned in close to Draco and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I must say, I have grown to love this Draco, the one who can actually show he cares about others, as opposed to the pompous fool you were back in school."

Draco actually blushed slightly at this.

The group of friends continued there friendly chat, and soon they found that it was midnight, time for the New Year. By this time, Susan and Ernie had become more comfortable with Hannah and Neville's friends, and they had relaxed after the initial awkwardness of the earlier conversations. As they celebrated with champagne they soon began to talk about plans for the New Year.

Susan turned to Harry and Daphne, "So, do you two have any big plans for this New Year? Can we expect some exciting news from the two of you, along the lines of Hannah and Neville?"

Daphne;s face returned to her icy mask from her days as a student at Hogwarts, as she knew that her future with Harry was still dependent on his getting his freedom from the goblins. Harry downed the rest of his champagne and then he pulled Daphne into his side. "We will be travelling to Russia for a brief visit soon, and then probably off to Romania. If everything goes as planned, we will be announcing a date shortly after we return from those travels."

Susan was about to offer congratulations when she noted Hannah's frown on her face. Hannah was wordlessly trying to communicate to Susan to not ask anything further. Neville noted his fiancé's attempts to silence Susan and he decided to speak up.

"Susan," said Neville softly, "everything that we spoke about earlier, about Harry's adventures over the past year, many of which he has had help with from his friends, from us, it all has to do with the goblins, and a debt he owes them. It is not a simple thing, and it has taken him over a year to even get close to finishing his task for them, but that does not mean that it will be easy."

His answer was accurate, but still vague enough that Susan and Ernie were confused. They had heard many of the tails of what Harry and his friends had been doing over the previous year, but they had not gotten around to understanding just why Harry was doing those things.

Daphne spoke up next, "Well, everyone else here at the party knows, so we might as well tell you two. Harry has to catch a dragon, and bring it back to the goblins at Gringotts. Once he has done that, he can take up his Lordship and he can move on with his life and finally put the war behind him." With that she enveloped Harry in a tight hug.

As the party was finally breaking up, Neville pulled Harry aside to have a quiet talk. "Now mate, just be careful as you head out to finish this. And do not hesitate to contact any of us if you need anything." Neville's tone clearly was not allowing for any argument from Harry.

Harry gave Neville a quick hug and then stepped back. "I know you all have my back, and the very pretty blonde who I have taken to hanging out with quite a bit will be with me. If I mess up the next part of this, I think she'll be more fearsome than that dragon I already faced."

Daphne had quietly walked up behind Harry and smoothly slipped her hands around his waist, and then whispered in Harry's ear, "You've got that right," and then she gave a tender kiss to the back of his head.

* * *

Harry was staring out the window as the trees and hills passed by. Some of the places they were riding through were covered with snow, others were dull and grey with the drabness of a winter coldness that was devoid of the enchantments that the snow cover would bring. However, as they traveled further east on the train, the snow on the ground was steadily increasing. Harry was thinking about what they would do once he procured the lance. His silent meditation was interrupted as Daphne put down the book she had been reading and slipped her hand into his and then leaned over his shoulder and looked out the window at the passing scenes with him.

"So, what have you been thinking about for the past hundred miles as you have silently been staring out the window?" she asked.

Harry leaned back into her warmness and then turned to look her in the eyes. "Just some passing thoughts about what happened next, or after we finish our brief visit to the St. Yuriev Monastery. That, and just enjoying this more leisurely means of travel."

Daphne smiled back at him, "Well, with all of your complaining about how much you hate basically any form of magical travel that does not require a broom, I figured this would be a little easier on your backside."

Harry proceeded to give her a gentle hug as he placed a chaste kiss on Daphne's lips. "You know me so well, young lady, and you have learned this all in less than a year."

"I have a keen mind for observation," she quipped, "and observing you has become not only entertaining but quite enjoyable."

"So, what time does the train arrive in Moscow?" asked Harry.

"We should arrive late in the afternoon," replied Daphne, "but it will already be dark by then. Then we change to the night train to Novgorod and that will have us there in the morning."

Harry sighed as he leaned into Daphne's arms. After reclining onto her for several minutes in silence he finally spoke, "I feel like we are reaching a turning point here. With this lance, and the advice from Merlin himself, I finally see that this quest may well be coming to an end." Harry sat silently as Daphne gently caressed his forehead. Then he began to speak again, "I know I, or should I say we, still need to get the dragon. But it seems like it is actually within reach. Most of the events in my life have revolved around the actions of one wizard and the repercussions of those actions. From when I was a baby, until I found out about magic, all of my years at Hogwarts, all of that has been due to Tom Riddle. And even now, this business with the goblins is just to tie up the last few loose ends from the war, from doing everything I had to do just to defeat the murderer of my parents who marked me when I was barely even one year old."

Daphne continued to caress him gently and then kissed him on the side of his head. She said nothing to him at this time, she just continued to hold him and show him that she cared.

Harry turned slightly so as to look her in her eyes. "Once we have the lance, Ascalon, and by using it, we should be able to put this all to rest. Then what? What do I do? What do we do?"

Daphne smirked at him. "I thought that we had already talked about that, you know, actually get married."

Harry kissed her briefly on the lips. "Well, of course that, but then what?"

Daphne gently took Harry's chin in her fingers and tilted his head up to look her in the eyes, as he was still laying back against her. "Mr. Potter, you can do what ever you want. You can move on from all of this, we can go away and hide. Be it on the island near Greece, or just travel the world, or find some place that we have never been, miles away from anyone else, and just be together."

"Well, my future Mrs. Potter," said Harry with a smile and a twinkle in his emerald eyes, "from what you are saying, I can look forward to everything and nothing, but all that matters is that it will be with you."

The afternoon sun quickly set and the early evening dusk was soon lit with the distant lights from various villages as the train continued to carry them through the countryside.

* * *

Harry and Daphne had arrived in Novgorod and had arranged for a taxi to take them to the monastery. It was now January 6, Theophany or Epiphany to the western Church, but the day of the Nativity Feast for those in the Eastern Church that followed the 'old calendar'. As they entered the grounds of the monastery, they were quickly greeted by one of the monks. It was late morning and the bells in the church tower had begun to chime as the liturgy had ended and the inhabitants of the monastery were beginning to celebrate the feast.

They quickly explained the reason for their visit to St. Yuriev and the monk indicated that he was aware of their planned arrival. Quickly he escorted them to the chapel, and the abbot met them there. He politely asked Harry and Daphne to wait in the Narthex as he walked to the front of the church and entered the area of the altar by going through a door on the left that had a painting of an angel holding a sword. Harry looked at the wall, which he later would learn was called the iconostasis, and noted that there were a series of paintings. Going from left to right was the door with the angel, then there was one of a man astride a horse, and they were standing over what appeared to be a small dragon. Then there was a painting of a woman holding a baby or young child in her lap, and then there was a dark curtain covering an opening to the back part of the church. To the right of this was another painting, and Harry quickly discerned that it was one of Jesus Christ, and to the right of this was a painting of a man standing in a river. Then there was another door, this one also had an angel painted on it, but it appeared different from the one on the door the abbot had entered.

Harry had been studying the iconostasis for some time and he had failed to notice the abbot approaching from the left, this time holding an object wrapped in a cloth. When Harry turned and faced the abbot, he noted that the abbot appeared very solemn and he also had two other men in simple black robes behind him.

The abbot offered Harry the object, and then he spoke softly. "I present to you, Ascalon, the lance of Saint Yuriev, or Saint George as you may know him. May your mission, of which I know nothing more than your need for this relic, be successful. I only ask, that if there is any way, that at sometime in the future, that Ascalon be returned here, to this monastery."

Harry had learned a little of the traditions of the Eastern Church, and as he took the relic wrapped in the green velvety cloth, he kissed the abbot's right hand.

"I am honoured that you have seen fit to allow me to have this lance," said Harry, with all the sincerity he could put into his words. "I cannot tell at this time if I will be able to return the lance here, but if there is a way for me to bring it back, I assure you that it will be done."

As Harry was about to turn and leave, the abbot added, "Before you do any conjuration, it would be best to keep it wrapped within the cloth until the time that you will need to use it, including keeping it wrapped before you hide it in your special way." The abbot gave a wink to Harry and Daphne as his eyes twinkled. The abbot then turned and headed back to the altar area of the church, immediately followed by the two deacons who had accompanied him.

Harry looked at the object in his hands, and then he looked up at Daphne. "I guess now we need to head back to Romania."

* * *

Harry had chosen to use his broom to fly around the area where he had previously had his encounter with the dragon that had not ended well for him at all. Daphne was holding on tight behind him, and she felt a slight shiver. Not from the cold of the January air, but from the nervousness of actually encountering a dragon, or possibly even more than one. She recalled how Harry had appeared near death when he arrived back in England after his less than successful battle the last time he was here. Harry then spun the broom around and began a steep dive to a rocky ledge on the side of a mountain. From where they alit, there was a good view over most of the valley.

Harry shrunk his broom and put it into his bag. As he did this the two of them noted a shadow pass over them, and looking up they noted a pale grey dragon soaring overhead.

"Where the bloody hell did that come from?" muttered Harry.

The dragon was still fairly high in the air above them, lazily circling over the valley. Daphne wondered aloud, "Do you think it even knows we are here?"

"It probably does," answered Harry quietly, "I would expect that it could smell us before it could hear or see us."

The dragon's glide pattern slowly brought it closer to the ground in addition to slowly bringing it closer to where Harry and Daphne were standing. Daphne stepped a little closer to Harry, as she had never faced down a dragon, and the closest she had ever been to one was watching the events of the first event at the Tri-Wizard tournament that year.

Soon, the dragon was approaching within a few hundred meters of where Harry and Daphne stood. Harry reached into the bag to retrieve the lance, and as he grasped the relic, he noted that the dragon had immediately turned and began to dive directly at their location.

Harry withdrew the lance, but it was still covered in the green cloth. Harry was not sure what to do, so he raised the lance above his head.

As he did this the dragon immediately pulled up from its dive and began to beat its wings. This gave the appearance of the dragon hovering a mere 70 meters away, and the force of the wind generated from the giant thrusts of its wings nearly knocked Harry and Daphne over. The dragon the abruptly turned around in mid-air and quickly flew off in the opposite direction, faster than Harry had seen any other dragon fly before.

Harry looked at Daphne and raised an eyebrow. Daphne stared back into Harry's eyes, as she said, "That can't be good."


	21. Chapter 21 Here there be dragons

_The dragon was still fairly high in the air above them, lazily circling over the valley. Daphne wondered aloud, "Do you think it even knows we are here?"_

"_It probably does," answered Harry quietly, "I would expect that it could smell us before it could hear or see us."_

_The dragon's glide pattern slowly brought it closer to the ground in addition to slowly bringing it closer to where Harry and Daphne were standing. Daphne stepped a little closer to Harry, as she had never faced down a dragon, and the closest she had ever been to one was watching the events of the first event at the Tri-Wizard tournament that year._

_Soon, the dragon was approaching within a few hundred meters of where Harry and Daphne stood. Harry reached into the bag to retrieve the lance, and as he grasped the relic, he noted that the dragon had immediately turned and began to dive directly at their location._

_Harry withdrew the lance, but it was still covered in the green cloth. Harry was not sure what to do, so he raised the lance above his head._

_As he did this the dragon immediately pulled up from its dive and began to beat its wings. This gave the appearance of the dragon hovering a mere 70 meters away, and the force of the wind generated from the giant thrusts of its wings nearly knocked Harry and Daphne over. The dragon the abruptly turned around in mid air and quickly flew off in the opposite direction, faster than Harry had seen any other dragon-fly before. _

_Harry looked at Daphne and raised an eyebrow. Daphne stared back into Harry's eyes, as she said, "That can't be good."_

* * *

Harry and Daphne had arrived in Northern Romania and then they had ventured into Carpathian Mountains along the border between Romania and the Ukraine. The young couple had found their way back to the place where Harry had encountered the dragon that had ultimately sent him to Royal London Hospital, or rather had caused the injuries that resulted in the emergency port key being activated that sent him to the Royal London Hospital. So now, Daphne found herself standing next to her fiancé on the edge of a rock cliff, looking over a small clearing in the valley below.

Daphne waited silently next to Harry. She tried to contain the fear that was rising inside of her as she considered just what would come of the dragon that had apparently inspected them and then turned and fled. She looked at Harry as he stared out across the valley in front of them.

Harry just stared silently as he tried to find any evidence of action on the horizon. There was a certain stoicism that was clearly expressed as he stood there on the edge of the rocky overhang. Daphne stepped back slightly so that she was just behind him, so she could keep an eye on Harry and on the sky above them. The silent vigil seemed to last forever, but it was only about forty minutes before they noted some activity. Daphne noted that Harry seemed to detect the distant motion slightly before she had noted it herself. She asked herself if that was one of his skills that helped him be a seeker for the quidditch team back in school — his ability to take in such minor detail from such a great distance. Daphne did not move, but she strained her vision as she attempted to discern just what was going on. There were several flying creatures in the distance just over the tree tops, and there was also some sort of commotion within the forest itself.

Suddenly there appeared flames and smoke from the trees in the forest near the small clearing below where they were standing. Daphne now was able to notice that there were several small dragons within the woods, burning down parts of the forest. Her attention was then drawn to the silhouettes of several larger dragons flying close to the tree tops, approaching the clearing. As the dragons came closer and the flames and smoke filled the air in the valley before them, Daphne started to worry even more about just what they had got themselves into with this whole dragon mess. As her fears begin to mount, she feels a sudden calmness come over her. She hears Harry's voice in her head, reassuring her, admonishing her and telling her to relax and be patient. Daphne is startled by his voice. As she is about to question him, he turns slightly to face her, and she notices the compassion that filled his eyes.

She whispered to him, "But how? How can I hear you?"

Harry smiled back at her, and she heard his voice in her head again and she noticed that his lips were not moving. "I think that it is a combination of our closeness, we must be bonding together, and a side effect of my having possession of Ascalon."

She noted that his hand was tightly gripped on the lance that was still wrapped within the cloak, but he held it out in front of him. Harry turned and looked down at the valley floor below them, and she followed his gaze with her own and she too noted that the smoke and the fire was clearing. There were at least a dozen dragons of various sizes that were arrayed around the enlarged clearing, sitting among the smoking ruins of part of the forest. The smallest of the dragons looked to be no larger than a large ox, other than its long tail and its outstretched wings. The larger dragons were easily bigger than the one that Harry had faced during the tournament during their fourth year at Hogwarts, although these were white scaled beasts, and their scales were smoother than the Hungarian Horntail that Harry had faced. She quickly heard Harry's voice again as it commented that these must be Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragons that he had been looking for, and that were related to the dragon that he had freed from Gringotts when he had escaped from the bank with Hermione and Ron.

Harry was about to comment about the relative sizes of the creatures in front of them when all of the sudden the sky went dark.

Harry and Daphne looked up and saw the silhouette of a large dragon blocking out the sun as it approached the clearing. The silhouette descended slowly into the middle of the clearing. The young couple noted that all of the other dragons had bowed down as the massive beast landed in their midst, and as its feet touched the ground it lifted its head and shot a massive stream of fire into the air above it.

Daphne then became aware of hearing strange voices in her head, as though there was a large conversation going on. She initially could not make out what any of the sounds were, and she whispered to Harry, trying to get his attention. Harry turned briefly towards her, held his finger to his lips to quiet her as he quietly added, "I hear it too, hold on."

Harry then turned to face the dragons. The giant dragon was now sitting in the centre of the clearing and looking straight up at Harry. Harry then removed the cloth from over the lance, and he firmly planted it on the ground next to him, as he held on to the middle of the shaft. The metal of the tip of the lance gleamed brightly in the sun and Harry noted that all the dragons were now staring at the lance, and not at him.

Then Harry and Daphne heard a low growl, followed by a hiss. At these sounds the murmuring voices in their heads ceased. Then the growl and hiss turned into a deep but melodic voice.

"Youngling, I have heard of your presence," said the voice, "and that you come bearing Ascalon, the weapon of George, the staff of Merlin." The massive beast paused for a moment. "I must ask now, what are your intentions?"

Before Harry could respond, one of the dragons crouched down to his right, not far from the large dragon in the middle, lifted its head and spoke up. "That is the same youngling who challenged me and lost. Let me take him now, and finish what I started!" exclaimed the young dragon.

The larger beast's tail swung at a blinding speed and struck the boasting dragon along the side of its head, causing it to stumble slightly. "Silence, Haragos," bellowed the larger animal. "You speak out of turn, and you know not of what we are dealing with."

"My apologies," whimpered the dragon who was momentarily subdued, "my lord Balaur, please forgive my rash speech."

"It may not be for me to forgive," chided Balaur, as he kept his eye on Harry.

"I come to speak to you and your kind," stated Harry. He did not realise at first that he was speaking in Parseltongue, and he did not fully understand that Daphne was hearing and understanding all of what was being said.

"But my young friend, Haragos, claims he fought with you not too long ago," replied Balaur. "In fact, the tale he tells of that encounter was that you had died and there was nothing left of your body when he was done. Do you return today for vengeance, or to finish what you started with the proud dragon?"

"I must admit to you and to Haragos, I came in ignorance when I first met him," answered Harry. "I apologise to you and your kind, and especially to Haragos for my rash actions when I was last here in your valley."

The dragon known as Haragos tilted its head slightly as he looked at Harry more carefully, yet a sneer still covered his face.

"You come with the weapon of the warrior, George," said Balaur as he seemed to be considering Harry's words. "Do you intend to use it as the original owner did?"

"I came into possession of this through the guidance of Merlin, with whom I have been studying and conversing in my efforts to complete a certain task."

Harry then noted that there was a slight commotion behind Balaur, as what appeared to be an even older dragon made its way out from the midst of the others. This dragon appeared to have various scars on his head and his wings, and his right-wing did not lay flat against its side as the left-wing did. There was a wisp of smoke trailing out of his nostrils as it came up next to Balaur. Even though Balaur was clearly larger than this older dragon, as well as obviously more fit, Balaur still stepped back.

The older dragon began to speak with a hiss, "Haragos, you are young and you are foolish!" He then took a few more steps towards the base of the cliff below Harry and Daphne. Harry thought that the dragon's eyes were glazed over, almost opaque. Then the ancient creature lifted its snout towards the cliff, and sniffed as it also tasted the air with his tongue. He then turned his head slightly towards Balaur. "I know that scent," he said almost quietly. Daphne and Harry could barely make out his words.

Balaur raised an eyebrow and stared back at the old one, "How is that, Biruitor? You have only been a here with us for a few short years."

Harry turned to Daphne and whispered, "This is surprising."

Before she could answer, she heard the words of Biruitor in her head, just as Harry did.

"He is the one. The one who lead the other two into the depths of the dungeon where I was held. He is the one who enabled my escape from the little ones," he said.

Balaur turned to face Harry, and even though he was still over a hundred feet away, Harry could see a look of surprise in Balaur's eyes.

"Are you sure?" he questioned the ancient Biruitor without taking his eyes off of Harry.

"I am most certain," responded Biruitor. "It was he who rode my back as I climbed out of the prison I had found myself in, it was he who jumped off into the lake with his companions."

"This is most interesting," replied Balaur with a slight hiss. He turned to face Biruitor, even if the older dragon could barely see him. "So what do you make of this situation, oh ancient one?"

There was a pause before the old dragon answered. "He carries the lance, the staff of Merlin. While I cannot see the staff, we all can sense it, even the young and foolish Haragos." He turned and faced the bold young dragon, and if it were possible to glare with blind eyes, the elder dragon did so. "My grandfather told me stories of Merlin, of how they would converse. Merlin was always gentle with my grandfather. He even allowed my grandfather to travel freely, to hunt game. I do know that he had said that Merlin had sent my grandfather away, after telling him that he would hide the staff, and that it would be hidden until his heir would return with the lance." Biruitor turned to face Harry and bowed his head. "Merlin-son, I humbly thank you for setting me free."

As the ancient dragon bowed his head as a sign of respect to Harry, there was a murmuring among the gathered dragons. Harry and Daphne had a hard time making out the words as so many were speaking at once. Harry could make out occasional phrases, 'how can this be, an ancient dragon bowing to a human', 'the son of Merlin has returned,', 'what ill omen does this mean for us?'

After the commotion continued for over ten minutes Balaur reared back and again shot a large cone of flame into the air above him. "Enough!" he bellowed. He turned and faced the other dragons. "Is there one of you here who questions the words of Biruitor? Is there one of you here who would dare to challenge Merlin-son, the wielder of The Warrior's lance?"

A silence fell over the gathered beasts. Harry was about to turn to face Daphne when he noticed a shadow pass over him. He turned and looked above him and noticed that there was a dragon that had appeared from behind after apparently arriving with the utmost stealth. Daphne noted Harry's startled reaction to the shadow and she too turned and they both stared at the beast that was above them.

This dragon was black, and Harry quickly recognised the many spikes from around the creatures large head. Yellow eyes inspected him closely as it sensed him with its nose and with its tongue. The black dragon then stared at Harry intensely for several minutes in silence. Then it lifted its large head and finally spoke, addressing the leader in the middle of the group in front of her.

"My cousin, Balaur," called out the loud but feminine voice that rang in both Harry and Daphne's head. "I am Kiraly, of the clan from the land these humans call Hungary. I too, recognise this small creature, from over fiver years ago."

Harry turned to Daphne as he gulped silently. He silently told her that he now was sure where he had seen this black dragon before.

Balaur called back to Kiraly. "Please, my fair cousin, what more information do you have about Merlin-son who we find here in our presence?"

"I had been taken by some of his kind, from my home to what these small creatures called a preserve. At that time I was then brought across the land and the sea to an island country with several other cousins, to participate in a foolish game that some of those twig twirlers had invented." She paused as she recalled the experience with great disgust. "He was sent by the others to try and steal one of my eggs. He did nothing to damage my own eggs, and I later learned that he was trying to obtain a false egg that some of the other twig-twirlers had hidden in my nest. There were others who had to try and do a similar stunt, facing off against various cousins of ours, but he was the one who showed respect and made no effort to hurt either me or my eggs. After he had retrieved the object which he sought, and he had left all of my own eggs unhurt, I was able to calm down and only then was I able to sense that he had truly never meant me nor my little ones any harm. If this is the twig twirler who comes before our kind today with Merlin's Staff, then he is not one to be feared!"

As she finished her short speech, she leapt up and took flight over Harry and Daphne, and quickly alit next to Balaur. She knelt slightly as she bowed her head to Balaur, and then she too turned to face Harry and Daphne. Then Kiraly bowed her head to the two humans on the ledge in front of where she sat with the other dragons.

While Kiraly appeared to make herself comfortable as she sat herself down next to the large Ukrainian Ironbelly, another dragon walked out from the circle that surrounded the two. Kiraly did not bother to lift her head and acknowledge this other dragon. The white dragon was slightly smaller than Balaur, but her mouth was filled with sharper teeth and her eyes seemed to glow a little brighter than those of Balaur. The newly emboldened dragon approached the base of the cliff beneath them and stood up on her hind legs to bring herself closer to them. Harry then suddenly felt a brushing within his mind, as though he were feeling someone trying legillimency on him. Harry was startled and Daphne was able to detect his surprise. The sensation lasted a couple of minutes and then the dragon turned and walked back to face Balaur.

Balaur raised an eyebrow at this dragon as he asked, "So, Jandarm, my queen, what have you learned of this Merlin-son?"

Jandarm, the dragon queen, snorted and released a large cloud of smoke from her nostrils. "I find no deceit in this little one," she announced. She then turned and faced Haragos, "And I was able to detect remorse on his part for engaging you in battle young Haragos."

The arrogant Haragos snorted in response.

Jandarm breathed s small spray of fire in Haragos' direction, "You would do well to not provoke him anymore, youngling. You bested him once, but Merlin-son survived. And now he is in possession of the Warrior's Lance. You must learn your place," she chided.

Balaur then spoke to all the dragons. "We have learned much about this Merlin-son, but we still do not know why he has come among us. Nor do we know why he comes bearing the Warrior's Lance."

Jandarm then turned and faced Harry once again. "Merlin-son," she spoke softly into Harry's mind, "will you share with us why you are here? Why have you brought back the Warrior's lance?"

Harry shifted back and forth on his feet as he thought how best to reply. He then began to speak in Parseltongue, which Daphne was able to understand through the mental link which had suddenly occurred as they arrived here at the cliff. Harry held onto Ascalon tightly with his right hand as he began to explain his presence.

"While it is true that I did meet the fair Kiraly many years ago, it is equally true that I had no desire to hurt her at that time. However, what brings me here today is more related to my encounter with Biruitor. The affairs of men and wizards may not be consequential to your kind, but my tale began before I was even born." Harry began to tell of the wizarding wars, of the Dark Lord, of the prophecy and the need for him to face Tom Riddle. He tried to explain that this Tom Riddle had used dark magic to prevent himself from ever truly being killed, and that to be able to defeat this dark wizard, Harry explained that he needed to obtain and destroy various items. Harry continued to tell the tale of breaking into Gringotts, the goblin bank, to get the object that was hidden there. In doing so, he and his friends had come upon the dragon that guarded the most secure vaults.

"My friends and I were discovered by the goblins. While I knew that I was stealing from someone, I did what I thought was right in order to save others from the wrath of the dark wizard. The goblins tried to capture us, and in our attempts to escape, Biruitor was freed from his shackles and he managed to escape the goblins' caves. My friends and I jumped on his back to escape the goblins as well." Harry paused and he faced the ancient dragon who appeared to be nearly blind. "I owe you a debt of thanks, most honoured Biruitor for you enabled my friends and me to escape and to be able to go on and defeat the evil wizard."

Several of the dragons responded with shooting flames and smoke out of their nostrils in what Harry and Daphne understood to be a form of cheering the old dragon for the aid he provided to Merlin-son, even if he did not do so intentionally.

As the dragons' responses began to die down, Harry continued. "It is this that brings me to my dilemma which I face to day. The goblins, who felt that I robbed them, not just by taking the item from the vault in their bank, but by allowing Biruitor to escape, now claim that I owe them. The debt that I owe them is to replace their dragon."

Harry and Daphne cringed at the response. There was more shouting and shooting of flames, and they could easily discern there was a difference in this response compared to the one that the dragons gave to honour Biruitor. There was anger and disgust being displayed.

Haragos reared back and roared greatly, "I told you all that this filth was up to no good!" Balaur glared at him as he spat flames towards the upstart young dragon. Biruitor himself spin about and slapped the end of his tail against Haragos' head.

"Youngling," hissed Biruitor, "you go too far with your words. You risk bringing the wrath of the Warrior's lance on your own hide!"

Balaur roared out with flames once more, but he was silenced as Jandarm spoke softly, but loud enough for all of the dragons to hear her. "We need to hear out what Merlin-son has to say to us. He is still the wielder of the Warrior's lance. Let him finish!"

The other dragons settled down. Harry tried to speak, but his throat had dried up as he observed the reactions of the dragons as he had told them what the goblins desired from him.

"My friends," he said slowly, trying to wet his lips and hoped that the dryness in his throat would allow him to finish. "I do not wish to force any one of you to join me, to return with me to England. But I find myself in a dilemma. I am bound to repay the goblins for the loss of the dragon, their ultimate guard for the vaults which they protect within their bank, their caves. Yet, I have learned much from my travels in order to obtain this lance, Ascalon. I do not believe that Merlin ever intended this staff, as he called it, to be used against any dragon. We heard from Biruitor how his own grandfather was treated by Merlin!"

A dragon in the midst of the crowd called out, "But you are not Merlin!"

Harry smiled slightly at this, "That is true, and I am not George either. However, I have learned that the wielder of Ascalon, of the Warrior's lance, should be the protector of the dragons, not their enemy!"

Kiraly called out above the dragon's speaking in response, "I have seen his actions, I believe that he speaks the truth!"

Jandarm breathed out a massive pillar of flame and then she added her own words. "I told you all that I have found no deceit in this man. Do you accept what I have to say? Or am I no longer your queen?"

A silence fell over the great beasts as her words sunk in.

A smaller dragon walked from the back of the crowd, past the king and queen of the Ironbellies, past the Hungarian Horntail, Kiraly, and finally up to the base of the cliff.

"I am Saevus, grandson of Balaur and Jandarm," he spoke with a little fear evident in his voice. "I would consider going with you to meet these goblins. I would go to learn why these goblin people choose to imprison our kind. I would go to repay Merlin-son for the kindness he has shown in the past to Kiraly and to Biruitor, even when you knew nothing about them. I would go as long as these goblin peoples do not shackle me. I would go as long as I am treated the way Biruitor's grandfather was treated by Merlin himself. I would go if I had the option to leave if another would take my place. I would go with you, but there needs to be something we, the dragons, receive in return."

Harry could hear Daphne speaking to him in his mind. He could hear her words of comforting and praise for how he had handled this situation with the dragons. He could hear her suggestion that perhaps they have Saevus return to meet with the goblins, and that perhaps an arrangement, or an agreement, could be reached between Saevus and the goblins. He could even hear her suggest that the goblins might even want to pay the dragons for serving as their guard for the lower vaults.

Harry started to laugh at her comments.

"And just what do you think is so funny, Potter?" demanded Daphne.

Harry continued to laugh as he answered her question. "How do you pay a dragon? I mean, what do they need? What do they want? Do you pay them with gold or jewels? Do you pay them with food or drink?"

Harry and Daphne heard a snicker and a laugh in their minds. "All of the above would suit me," said the young dragon, Saevus.

* * *

**AN: Yes, this was a short chapter, but it took a while to get the interactions, dialogue and names to work…**

**Also, thanks for the reviews and the comments. Now with over 800 followers!  
**

**There are probably only about 3 or 4 chapters left, if I do this the way I currently have outlined. Maybe 5, depending on how it actually flows...  
**


	22. 22 Goblins, dragons and wizards, Oh My!

**AN: This update came quicker than I expected. There will be at least 2 more chapters to this story as I work on the rest of the loose ends, while trying to not create too many more loose ends. Again, thanks for the favorites, the followers, and the reviews. **

* * *

(Monday, February 4, 2002)

The goblins in the conference room remained still and quiet as Harry and Ragnok discussed the situation. Ragnok was trying to understand just why Harry was making this stance about the dragon.

"Now, Harry," spoke Ragnok, his tone becoming terse, but his teeth not showing, indicating that he was not truly becoming angry, "I thought you understood the arrangement perfectly well. Can you please review for me, and for the goblin nation, just what it is that you have done? Yes, I know, I have heard the story, or at least parts of it. So, if you would explain it all, one more time."

Harry sighed, and regained his composure. He had been at this meeting for quite some time and he felt as though he was getting no where with Ragnok. "Very well," he began, "I researched what I would need to get control of a dragon. I was able to get access to the writings of Myrddin Emrys, more commonly referred to as Merlin."

Ragnok interrupted him as he was now taking notes with a quill and a piece of parchment. "And this you did at a muggle educational institution?"

"Yes," replied Harry, "Pembroke College, at Oxford." Harry paused as he realised that the goblins probably did not care about Oxford or Cambridge or any other such muggle university. "It was from what I learned there that I began my quest."

Ragnok looked up at Harry momentarily as he again asked for clarification, "And that was when you hunted down a griffon, a thunderbird and then a chimera?"

"I did have to kill the griffon," commented Harry. "I do believe that the Australian Ministry of Magic was thankful for that as it was terrorising people in the area. But for the thunderbird, all I had to do was to obtain a tail feather from the beast. Then from the chimera, I had to obtain venom from the snake, while the beast was still alive."

One of the other goblins spoke up, as his explanation of the facts being relayed before him seemed too incredible. "You want us to believe that you actually faced a thunderbird _and_ a chimera, that you acquired those objects and yet you _still_ live?"

The glare from Ragnok towards the young goblin was enough to cause the young and impertinent creature to tumble off of his chair. Harry worked to stifle the laughter that tried to force its way out upon watching the scene in front of him.

Ragnok snarled at the goblin. "Lord Potter here," he stopped speaking as Harry interrupted him.

"I am not a Lord yet, your highness," inserted Harry apologetically.

"An oversight which I am sure you will soon rectify," answered Ragnok, who then turned his ire back towards the now very embarrassed goblin. "The _soon to be Lord Potter_, is the one who defeated the self proclaimed Lord Voldemort, he is one of our richest customers, and his bravery seems to know no bounds. Do not dare to question the veracity of his adventures."

Harry looked away from the now chastised young goblin. Then he continued reviewing his tale. "Yes, I did face down a thunderbird and a chimera, and I still feel quite alive. After we obtained the final ingredient for what I thought would complete the necessary steps to control a dragon, I went to the Carpathian Mountains in the southwestern part of the Ukraine, where I was soundly whipped by a young Ironbelly. Upon returning to review my studies of Merlin's writings I actually was able to speak with the fabled wizard. Then I learned that I needed to obtain Ascalon, the famed lance of Saint George who is reputed to have slain a dragon back in the 4th century. Locating this particular item was not so easy, and I ended up searching around the world before I finally was able to take possession of it. Then, with Ascalon in hand, I confronted an entire clan of Ukrainian Ironbellies, and even a Hungarian Horntail. One of the young dragons, Saevus by name, agreed to accompany me on my return to England."

The young goblin sneered, "Dragons do not agree to do anything with humans or wizards, unless they are enchanted."

Ragnok raised one eyebrow slightly and a guard from the back side of the room silently stepped forward and with a simple swing of the staff of his halberd, the impertinent young goblin was sprawled on the floor.

Harry ignored the display of discipline in front of him, knowing full well that goblin customs required such harsh treatment of the young goblin for what amounted to rebelliousness. There remained a period of silence in the room as Ragnok finished scribing his notes onto the parchment. When the quill stopped moving he looked up at Harry expectantly.

"Perhaps," offered Harry, "it would be best to continue this discussion at Potter Manor, at your convenience of course."

The goblins remained motionless as they awaited Ragnok's response. "Perhaps that would be best, we can adjourn until then, and we should meet in three days time."

Harry acknowledged the offer with a slight nod of his head. Ragnok then spoke again, "If it would not be too much of an imposition, my friend, perhaps the rudeness of young Irontooth may be overlooked and he might be permitted to join our group."

Harry gave his usual lopsided smile as he replied, "Of course, that would be fine."

Ragnok smiled in return. "I expect that my son will be on much better behaviour in the future," he explained.

Harry ended the meeting with the customary goblin pleasantries and then he began to head down the halls and out of the bank. He noted a particularly large troll standing on guard near one of the entrances to a passageway that lead to the lower vaults. He thought to himself that trolls seem like such ignorant brutes, how could they possibly be useful as some sort of guard for an institution such as Gringotts.

* * *

(Tuesday, February 5, 2002)

Potter Manor

Daphne Greengrass was waiting for her sister to arrive via the floo. While she and Harry had been back in England for over a week, this was the first time that Astoria and Draco would be able to come and visit. Daphne knew Harry was outside spending time with Saevus as she could hear their conversation in her head. The link that had begun when they were in the Ukraine had continued to develop, even if Harry wasn't holding Ascalon. So she knew that Harry was still outside trying to explain again to Saevus what to expect when the goblins would be coming by in a couple of days, and she sent him a quick thought to remind him that her sister and Draco would be here shortly.

Astoria stepped through the floo and was quickly followed by her fiancé. Daphne greeted her little sister with a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. Draco was then greeted with a hug as well. As Daphne was about to ask them if they would like some tea, Draco's eyes went wide as he looked out the large window behind Daphne. Astoria noted his reaction and she too turned and looked out onto the large garden behind the house as they saw a large white dragon was swooping down behind Harry. Astoria screamed in fear for Harry, and Draco started to cast a patronus to call for help from the Aurors. Daphne heard Draco calling out "_Expecto Patronum_" as she turned to look at what they were screaming at.

Harry heard Astoria's scream through his connection with Daphne, as did Saevus. Saevus could sense that Harry was worried about something happening in the manor, so he alit behind Harry as he shot of a breath of flame into the air as a sign of power to scare off whomever might be threatening Merlin-son's companion. Harry was now running towards the house, wondering what could be happening. He quickly made the decision not to apparate so as not to risk injury to himself.

"Draco!" screamed Daphne, "What do you think you're doing?"

Draco was stunned by the immediate reaction of Daphne. "Calling for Aurors to come help, Potter's being attacked by a dragon for Merlin's sake!"

Astoria meanwhile was covering her eyes with her hands.

"Cancel that immediately!" demanded Daphne. "Harry is not being attacked and the Aurors will never get through the wards here no matter how hard they try!"

Draco looked back and saw Harry running to the door with his wand in his hand. The dragon was now flying behind him. Daphne called out, "It's okay Harry, everything is fine in here. These two just panicked when they saw Saevus."

Harry pulled up from his sprint and turned to speak to Saevus, and reassured his dragon friend that everything was okay.

Daphne turned back to her sister and her fiancé. "And just what was that all about? You two both know Harry was trying to get a dragon for the goblins. What did you think was actually happening?"

Draco meanwhile had recalled his patronus and was wiping his brow with his forearm. "Well, Stori screamed, and the dragon landed behind Harry and I just got worried."

Daphne scoffed at him. "You're an Auror, you're not supposed to panic. I thought you were trained how to quickly evaluate a situation. I didn't think you were such a girl!"

Draco sneered at her words. "Excuse me for wanting to help a friend!"

Astoria now walked over to Draco and hid her head in his shoulder, as she muttered, "I'm sorry Daph, it was my fault, I screamed, I set off Dray."

Draco gently encircled her with his arms as he tried to comfort his fiancé.

Harry was now walking into the room to see the group hug as Daphne had stepped up to comfort her sister. "Hey, what's happening in here?"

Daphne let go of her sister and turned to Harry, "I already told you they overreacted to the sight of Saevus out there in the garden."

Draco let go of Astoria and looked at Harry and Daphne, "And when did you tell him that?"

Daphne winced slightly at the question. But Harry comforted her with a hand on her shoulder, "When I was outside, I could hear everything she heard." Harry's eyes sparkled as he looked between Draco and Astoria. "What? Don't you two have that kind of connection? You mean you don't hear each other's thoughts?" Harry's smile was as big as Daphne had ever seen.

Draco frowned as he looked at Harry. "No, we don't." Draco looked to Daphne, searching for a reaction from her, but seeing none, he looked back at Harry. "So, you found yourself a dragon." The blonde young man looked past Harry now at the large white reptile sitting in the garden behind the manor.

Harry briefly looked over his shoulder and then turned back to face his friend. He ran his hand through his messy long black hair as he answered, "Well, yeah, I did. He is a little protective of me and Daphne, so don't go getting him all riled up."

Draco frowned slightly, "I think we noticed."

Daphne spoke up to change the topic of conversation. "So, now that you are both here, and the emergency is dealt with, we can all have a seat, Flopsy can get as all some tea, and you two can tell us the 'big news' you said you had to share."

The four all sat down in the lounge as Flopsy brought out tea for everyone. Harry and Daphne waited expectantly for the young couple who had joined them to speak. Draco nudged Astoria slightly who blushed in response. She took Draco's hand in hers and then turned to face Daphne with a big smile.

"We've set a date!" she exclaimed.

Harry's expression was one of confusion, and Daphne's was one of surprise. "You mean for the wedding?" she asked.

"Of course," snapped Astoria, trying not to lose her excitement to her sister's apparent displeasure. Harry's eyes widened as he finally caught up with where this conversation was heading.

"We've set a date for the end of April," continued Astoria. "Mum and Dad are excited, and we thought that Harry would be done with his adventures by then."

Daphne could easily feel her sister's excitement over the plans. She stood up and pulled Astoria into a hug. "Oh, Stori, I am so happy for you," she said as she had tears welling up in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco and then stood up and walked over and shook his former rival's hand. "So, were you guys getting worried about the clauses in the contract?" asked Harry as he was trying to figure out the reasons behind their moving up the date. Harry received a slap on the arm from Daphne as she silently communicated to him she felt he had just asked a rather rude question.

Draco shook his head, "No, we just thought it was the right thing to do." A smile slowly formed on his face as he noticed Harry's reaction to being slapped.

Astoria was now standing and holding Draco to her side with an arm around his waist. This action made Draco feel more comfortable and more confident in responding to Harry. "Actually," he went on to explain, "over the past year we have fallen in love. No wise cracks from you Potter. So, regardless of the contract hanging over our heads, we decided we wanted to make this official as soon as possible, but we wanted to make sure you two were done with Harry's latest adventure."

"Well, mate," replied Harry, "congratulation, we are both really happy for you." Harry leaned over and gave Astoria a quick kiss on her cheek. "Congratulations, to both of you."

Astoria turned to face Draco, and kissed him quickly, "I told you they would be excited for us."

They all sat down again, and Draco began to ask more about their travel to the Ukraine and their meeting with the dragons. Harry let Daphne tell her version of what happened, as he enjoyed hearing the story as well. When she had finished telling of all the dragons they had encountered, Draco shook his head and smiled.

"You always seem to find a way to do things in the extreme," he said to Harry, shaking his head with mirth. "And this all can still be blamed on Riddle. He created a monster when he marked you. I am sure no one had any idea that the actions of that Halloween night would result in making one of the most feared wizards ever to walk the face of the earth. Good thing for our world you didn't go dark," he added with a smile.

"Feared?" questioned Harry. "Who fears me? And why?" Harry was dumbfounded by Draco's statement.

Astoria answered for her fiancé, "Let's just review your past then. You defeated a dark lord as a toddler. You come to Hogwarts without knowing anything about your heritage, and in your first year alone you kill a troll, rescue a damsel in distress and then you face off again with the same dark lord and kill his host body."

Draco interrupted and continued, "Then as a second year, you kill a bloody sixty foot long basilisk, rescue another damsel in distress, whom you would later go on to reclaim that life debt when you killed her defending your lovely girlfriend, and then you go and defeat the dark lord in his second attempt to come back to life. By the time you were 13 you already were up 3-0 against the most feared wizard in over a generation."

Daphne smiled, and joined in, "Then you go and rescue a doomed hippogriff and your godfather while chasing off a mere 100 dementors when you were a third year. And then you added to your legend in our fourth year by outflying a dragon, rescuing more damsels in distress from the bottom of the Black Lake, and then you win the Tri-Wizard tournament after surviving another battle with Voldemort."

Draco picked up the history, "And then in fifth year you managed to survive the torture of the pink toad, and again you face off with the dark wanker, as you have called him, and survive while leading a band of five other students who capture several Death Eaters in the process. And then in our sixth year, you must have been a slouch, as you had no direct confrontation with Riddle, but then you go on the run for what would have been your final year at Hogwarts, and you find a way to defeat him, including leading the Battle of Hogwarts."

Then Astoria continued the tale, "And then there is this past year with even more adventures, culminating in your bringing home a pet dragon. So, any wizard or witch in their right mind would be smart to fear you, or at least fear getting on your bad side."

Harry protested, "But I always had help along the way, and _Saevus_ is not a pet."

"Of course you had help," agreed Draco, "anyone worth their salt has help in accomplishing things. That doesn't take away from your foolish Gryffindor bravery and saving people thing that you have excelled at for the past ten years or so."

Harry was speechless in response to Draco's assertion.

Then Draco continued with a serious tone, "On that note, mate, I would be honoured to have you as my best man when I take the lovely Astoria as my wife."

* * *

(Thursday, February 7, 2002)

Ragnok was flanked by several goblins as they stepped through the floo and into the lounge at Potter Manor. The goblins who had accompanied their leader were not used to being in the world of the humans, spending most of their time away from the scornful eyes of wizards and witches and as such they had no real idea what to think of the home of the most famous wizard to be befriended by their nation. Harry greeted them all with a respectful bow.

"Welcome to my home, Ragnok," stated Harry, "you honour me with your presence."

"You honour me and my kin with welcoming us into your home," replied the goblin with a bow. "Now, down to business. We are not here on holiday."

"Very well, Ragnok, you are direct and to the point as always. Why don't we all come and have a seat over here near the garden window," Harry continued, making it a statement and not a question.

There was a row of benches near the large windows overlooking the yard out back. As the goblins climbed onto the seats, Harry retrieved a long cloth covered item and held it up in front of Ragnok. Slowly he removed the green velvet material from the lance and he held it up so all of the goblins could see.

"I present to you Ascalon, the lance of St. George the Dragon Slayer, the staff of Myrddin Emrys." Harry waited silently as the goblins inspected it closely with their eyes.

"Most impressive," sneered Irontooth, whose demeanour had not seemed to improve in the slightest to Harry, "but you already told us you had acquired this trinket."

Harry calmed himself as he heard Daphne's voice in his mind reminding him to remain civil. "While I must agree with you, Irontooth," spoke Harry in as serious a tone as possible to mask his intended sarcasm, "the detailed craftsmanship is _most_ impressive, but the unseen beauty is the power which it conveys to its rightful wielder, which is currently…me."

Irontooth picked up on the sarcasm and glared slightly back at Harry. Ragnok stifled a goblin laugh as he was enjoying Harry's response to his belligerent son.

Harry continued, "And this power allows me to communicate, or speak with, the dragons."

Irontooth scoffed at Harry's claim. "Speaking to a mindless beast, that would seem to be a waste."

Harry did not respond with anger, but with a smile. "A mindless beast you say? But you would use one as a guard for your most valued customers?"

Irontooth snarled his response, "Even humans use dogs to guard their property."

"And goblins use trolls to guard their bank," quipped Harry.

"Just because humans are not able to speak with trolls and communicate with them properly does not mean that they are mindless brutes," retorted Irontooth.

"My point exactly!" replied Harry with a big smile. Ragnok actually laughed out loud.

"Well played, my young wizard friend," congratulated Ragnok. "Wizards have long viewed trolls as mindless creatures, and it appears you are about to convince us that our views on dragons has been wrong."

"My lord Ragnok," answered Harry, "you are most wise and astute. For through my knowledge of Parseltongue and through my possession of Ascalon, I can converse with the dragons as easily as you and I are speaking right now. Perhaps it may be that no goblin has ever been conversant in the language of snakes and reptiles that has prevented your noble race from truly being able to communicate with these magnificent creatures, and there have been few humans who have ever been able to do it. Merlin was one. And now I have that ability. Which is, I believe, the reason why the dragons have named me 'Merlin-son'. They have only had stories of humans who could speak with them before now."

Irontooth was glaring at Harry through half lidded eyes. Harry noted this reaction and he continued. "While I was in the Ukraine, I met with many dragons. One of whom was named Biruitor. He is a very old dragon. In fact, he is the very dragon that was set free because of my actions several years ago."

The goblins began to murmur as Harry revealed this information to them.

"Biruitor was older than any other dragon I met. In fact, I do believe that he has lived longer than he would have if he had never been captive in your bank."

Ragnok interrupted Harry with a question. "How would living as a guard in our bank allow him to live longer?"

"Dragons are magical creatures," Harry explained, "but their magic is aided by the materials that are around them. In the wild they can be strong and fierce and powerful, especially so if their magic is being augmented by things that are around them. Dragons' magic is augmented particularly well in the presence of certain materials."

Ragnok nodded as he began to understand where Harry was going with this. Irontooth, meanwhile, was becoming more intrigued. "What kinds of materials?" asked the usually irritable goblin.

"Thank you for asking, Irontooth," grinned Harry. "The answer should be obvious when you consider that a dragon that was barely fed and kept in a dungeon like cave for many decades lived so long. Precious metals and gems. Gold, silver, diamonds, rubies. The sort of things that are found in great abundance in the vaults of Gringotts, particularly in the lower vaults, the most secure vaults, where you had Biruitor acting as your special guard."

Irontooth's jaw gaped momentarily. Ragnok frowned as his suspicions were correct.

"So, Harry," interjected the goblin leader, "just what is your point with this history lesson for us about dragons?"

"Ah yes, to the point," smiled Harry. "You asked me to provide you with a dragon as payment for your loss of Biruitor, your former guard. I have found a dragon who might be considered a volunteer. Except that volunteers would do their work without pay or expectation for any sort of reward. Saevus, the dragon who has accompanied me back to England, has agreed in principle to serving as your guardian dragon, but with certain conditions."

Irontooth spoke out again. "A dragon making demands of us?"

Ragnok turned and glared at his son. "Remember the old saying my son."

"And what saying is that?" asked his son.

"Dragons are not to be taken lightly, or angered, for you are tasty and you go well with spiced gravy," replied Ragnok with a toothy grin. Then the goblin leader turned back to Harry, "If you would be so kind as to elaborate on Saevus' requests, then we can continue with this meeting."

Harry smiled in return. "Saevus requests are few, but they are all important to him. One, he is opposed to any sort of chains or manacles being placed on his body. Two, he requests that several times per year, perhaps once per season, he be given a few days to fly free, to strengthen his wings, to hunt wild game."

One of the other goblins spoke up, "But how would we know he would come back?"

"Because dragons keep their word," answered Harry. "He is demeanour would be much more pleasant if you were to allow him such privileges. Obviously, we would need to arrange for a safe place for him to hunt and to fly."

Ragnok raised an eyebrow as he considered the requests that had been enumerated so far and the fact that Harry had stated that he had a dragon in his yard. "Excuse me, Mr. Potter, but does not your own Ministry of Magic have laws forbidding the keeping of dragons or raising them, at least without a special permit? Do you have such a permit?"

Harry laughed as he answered, "No, I have no such permit. However, I am not keeping or raising a dragon. Saevus has come here on his own free will. He is a guest, not a pet. I am not violating any laws or regulations." Harry paused as he let his words sink in for a minute. "Now, where was I? Yes, three, he agrees to work for you for a total of 100 years, at which time negotiations would arrange for another dragon to replace him. Also, he would expect payment at the time he departed, a pre negotiated amount of gold and precious gems."

Irontooth spoke up hesitantly. "This dragon, Saevus, he expects us to just allow him to leave for days at a time, what would he have us do for protecting the vaults when he is gone?"

Harry held back a smirk from forming on his face. "What have you been doing to protect the vaults since Biruitor left? I am sure that Gringotts has measures in place for the safe keeping of all of the vaults. Also, if the dates of Saevus' holiday is kept secret and is varied, then this should not be a problem that would prove to be insurmountable."

Ragnok frowned for a moment and then he conferred with his associates in Gobbledygook. After a few moments of private conversation he turned back to address Harry. "I believe that we can reach an accord. Personally, I would like to meet this dragon, Saevus. If you would be so kind so as to arrange an introduction."

Harry smiled broadly, "Follow me," he said as he headed towards the garden.

* * *

(Monday, February 18, 2002)

Harry was pacing in Ragnok's office, waiting for the goblin to arrive. Daphne finally had enough of his worrying, "Really Harry, you need to sit down and relax. What could possibly go wrong? You're about to review all of your families' holdings, and take up your lordships. The goblins have been overseeing the investments for years, you know you are rich beyond measure. So why the pacing? Why the fuss?"

Harry sighed and then he began to explain his fears. "They will be doing a test, a ritual, to see if I have any outstanding debts to anyone else. What if I owe someone a life debt?"

Daphne snorted at his comment. "The Bo-Who-Lived, the Vanquisher-of-Voldemort, the guy with the saving people thing, he could possibly owe a life debt to someone? Who could you possibly owe a life-debt to?"

Harry grimaced as he thought about her question.

"Draco," said Harry confidently. "He came over and used the Elder Wand to heal me from my injuries."

"That doesn't count," answered Daphne. "He did not risk anything of himself when he did that, and besides, he already owed you for saving him from the fire in the Room of Requirement."

"His mother," answered Harry quickly. "She lied to Voldemort when I had survived the killing curse."

"I am pretty sure that isn't enough of a sacrifice to establish a life-debt," stated Daphne.

"I don't know, she must have known that if Riddle found out what she did he would have killed her then and there."

"But you defeated Riddle, and thereby saved all of Magical Britain, so the whole bloody country owes you a life debt. Or two," she rebutted.

Harry relaxed at her words as she rubbed circles on the back of his hand which seemed to help calm him down. After another few minutes Ragnok arrived followed closely by several goblins carrying various things. There was a rune covered bowl, several sheets of parchment as well as a couple of quills. Harry took a deep breath as he considered the stories he had heard of goblin blood rituals, and he was sure that this one would not be very different from the stories which he had heard. Harry knew the titles he had inherited, but he wanted to be sure that there was no outstanding debts he owed to anyone. The life-debt ritual was not too different from the inheritance ritual. It would require that he slice his hand, bleed into the rune covered chalice, wait for the goblins to perform their ritual, and then use the blood from the chalice to write on the magically enhanced parchment which would then spell out any debts he owed or that were conversely owed to him.

Ragnok held out the ritual dagger, "Are you ready, my friend?"

Harry grimaced slightly as he muttered, "As ready as I ever will be."

Ragnok then held out the ritual dagger, and Harry grasped it with his right hand. Slowly he drew the blade across the palm of his left hand, and as the blood began to flow, he let it drip into the chalice. The blood filled the chalice as it dripped into the stone cup. The runes along the outside of the cup started to glow as the level of blood in the container reached the level required to begin the ritual. Then the goblins began a soft chant as Ragnok held his hand over the chalice. The runes now began to glow brighter, and after several minutes of chanting, there was a sudden flash of emerald-green light from the chalice. Harry stepped back and instinctively dropped the dagger from his right hand due tot he sudden shock from the flash of light. Ragnok grinned, and Harry could have sworn that he heard a slight chuckle emanate from the goblin's tight lips.

"You may sit down, Mr. Potter," commanded Ragnok. As Harry sat in the chair Ragnok again gave a command, "Now, pick up the quill."

Harry had to reach for the quill with his left hand to retrieve it from the far side of the table, and as he did so he noted that his hand was already healed from the laceration he had made into his palm. The quill itself seemed to pulse with energy as he picked it up. After transferring the quill to his right hand, Ragnok ordered him to dip the quill into the fluid int he chalice — and Harry noted that the fluid had changed from being blood red to being clear. The fluid in the chalice was quickly absorbed into the quill.

"Now, place the tip of the quill near the top of the parchment and sign your name," directed Ragnok.

Harry nodded silently and did as he was instructed. His name appeared in blood red strokes which seems to glow on the parchment.

"Now, place the tip of the quill on the middle of the parchment, do not let it lose contact with the document until I tell you it is safe to do so," warned Ragnok. Harry recalled that he had been advised that this part of the ritual was the most difficult as it would be painful to hold his hand in place while the magic used in the ritual extracted the needed information from his magical core.

Harry nodded once more and placed the quill as directed, and then he felt the pain sear through his arm. Ragnok noted that Harry's left eye twitched almost imperceptibly once, and after that there was no further sign that he was suffering any pain or discomfort. After five minutes there was a flash of emerald light from the chalice once more, and then Ragnok reached out and gently took the quill from Harry as he stated flatly, "It is complete, you may let go now."

Harry's hand slowly released its grip on the shaft of the quill as several words began to appear on the parchment. Ragnok narrowed his eyes as he considered Harry's reaction to the pain of the ritual. It was not uncommon for the strongest of men to cry out in pain or close their eyes and grit their teeth as the power to complete the transfer of information onto the parchment drained their magical core, even if it was only temporary. But this Harry Potter had impressed all of the goblins present as he withstood the demands of the test.

Finally Ragnok took the parchment and began to read, as the words had been written in Gobbledygook, and Harry had no recognition of the runic alphabet that was used.

"Well, Harry, you should be relieved to know that you owe no one any financial debts," stated Ragnok.

Harry acknowledged the comment with a slight nod. In the mean time, Daphne had now taken a seat next to him and grasped his right hand to show her support for him.

Ragnok continued to translate the findings of the ritual, "It seems that at one point you were owed a life debt from Draco Malfoy, but that has been fulfilled. How that was done is not stated in the runes. Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Gabrielle Delacour and Fleur Delacour Weasley all owe you life debts according to the writing. There are several who owed you life debts, but those were considered paid in full at the time of their deaths. Specifically, those that did owe you a life debt were Ginevra Weasley, and Sirius Orion Black."

Harry was a little startled to hear about the life debts. Daphne leaned into his side to comfort him.

The goblin leader spoke up again, "This is most interesting, as I have never seen such a statement as this ever. In fact, I will have our scholars study the history of the runic sequences here as well as the history of this ritual, as I do not believe such a debt has ever been declared since before the time of Merlin."

Harry was puzzled by these words, but it was Daphne who managed to speak the question, "What is it that the runes are saying?" The concern in her voice was obvious to everyone in the room.

"Apparently the Ministry of Magic, Magical England itself, owes a debt to Harry Potter due to his defeat of the dark lord who named himself Lord Voldemort, more appropriately known as Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Harry was confused to hear all of this. Finally he looked at Ragnok as he voiced his questions. "What does it mean for Ron and Hermione to owe me a life debt? Or for Fleur and her sister for that matter?" He paused for a moment before he made his next statement. "Bloody hell, _all_ of magical England owes me a debt. Bugger. What does that even mean?"

Ragnok grinned. "The goblin nation would be more than happy to represent you in the negotiations with the Ministry of Magic for just how that debt should be _and will be _settled."

* * *

**AN (2): This will remain a Harry-Daphne story - there will be no harem or multiple partners...that's not the direction this is heading...**

**AN (3): I have also just fixed a few minor typos in this chapter...  
**


	23. 23 Wizengamot, Lords and Life Debts

Harry was pacing in the halls of the Ministry of Magic, he was on the second level, outside of the Wizengamot, which was just beginning their spring session. Lord Greengrass was prepared to start the session by immediately requesting that any lords who had recently taken up their titles should be allowed to take their own seats. Amos Diggory who had been elected the Chief Warlock only a few months previous was bringing the meeting to order.

"Now, my lords and ladies, we have much business to attend to, so please, let's get settled down so we can get on with the important work before us," he called out over the hubbub of the gathered witches and wizards. Lord Greengrass stood up as everyone began to take their seats.

"A point of order," called out the tall man.

Amos Diggory shuddered as he looked down at the man who was interrupting the beginning of the session. "The Wizengamot recognises Lord Greengrass," responded the chief warlock with a sigh and a bang of his gavel. "What do you have to call our attention to today?"

Jonathan Greengrass could tell that Diggory was not happy that the start of the session was being delayed, but he didn't care. He had an important job to do and he was eager to do it. "Lords and ladies, members of this esteemed body, my Chief Warlock and our Minister for Magic, I merely wish to point out that we need to take the time to acknowledge if there is anyone who has taken up the headship of their respective house. We need to welcome any potential new members to this Wizengamot before we begin the actual business of the session."

Diggory retorted, clearly exasperated by this interruption. "Yes, we know that the procedure calls for the recognising of any new Lord or Lady who is a member of the Wizengamot, but we don't have time for this formality."

Lord Greengrass did not deter. "Then you would deny a lord their rightful place in this august body? I am surprised, Amos, that we seem to have learned so little from the problems that were allowed to fester over the past twenty years. Do we not wish to do what is right, not simply what is easy?"

Amos Diggory was not known to be a particularly patient man, unless it was extolling on the virtues of his late son, Cedric. He was obviously annoyed as he responded to the tall man who seemed determined to delay the proceedings. "Very well," he said with disgust, "if there be any lords or ladies who seek to claim their seats amongst the Wizengamot, let them present themselves now before this body." He slammed his gavel.

The Chief Warlock was about to speak up, stating they were going to get the meeting started in earnest, when the doors to the chambers opened up and in strode a young man in dark robes with green and silver trim. His long black hair was pulled back into a pony tail. His green eyes glowed from behind his glasses. There was a collective gasp as Harry Potter stepped up to the podium where the Chief Warlock was standing.

"Chief Warlock Diggory," started Harry with a polite nod of his head, "I would like to claim my seats on the Wizengamot as Lord of House Potter and Lord of House Black."

Diggory was initially dumbstruck. After merely gaping at the young man in front of him, he looked towards Jonathan Greengrass and cast a vicious glare at him and then he quickly composed himself as he addressed the new Lord. "Lord Potter-Black, you may take your seat after we have received the paper work…" His words were cut off as he received a stack of documents from a ministry house elf that were clearly the certification papers of Harry James Potter and his rightful ascension to the position as the head and lord over both ancient houses. Amos coughed once as he quickly flipped through the documents and then he tried to force a smile as he looked at the young lord again. "Very well, I see that everything is in order. You may choose to take either the seat for House Potter or House Black." He cleared his throat once more, and then he continued, "Now, please welcome Lord Potter-Black to the Wizengamot, and let us please begin our work today without any further interruptions. Apparently the first item of business is once again the issue of cauldron imports and the lack of standards…"

The meeting droned on, and Harry quickly learned that being a lord was not always a time of excitement and a clash of ideals. Sometimes it was merely a clash of wills over how thick does a cauldron bottom need to be, and what the penalties would be if someone imported items that were too thin or too thick. When the meeting was finally over, Jonathan Greengrass met with Harry before they left the large room. Several of the other lords came up and wished Harry well as they welcomed him to the Wizengamot. A few lords whose families clearly had supported the blood purist movement just eyed Harry carefully as they silently made their way past him and Lord Greengrass. Even Neville stopped to give Harry a brief hug as he left to get lunch.

"Harry, why didn't you let me know you were going to start coming?" asked his friend.

Harry gave a slight grin as he apologised, "I'm sorry mate, but I have been so busy with so many other plans, business and otherwise that I just," Harry paused in his excuse for a moment, "…oh bugger, I just never thought about it. Please, don't take offence my good friend."

Neville grinned, "No worries, Harry, we've been friends for too long and been through too much together for me to get upset with you. So, you really did it, you got them a dragon." Neville's excitement for Harry was more than obvious.

"Not here, not now, Neville," admonished Harry in a friendly tone, "we really should have you and Hannah over and I will tell you all about it."

Neville was excited to receive the informal invitation. "You can count on us being there whenever it works for you and Daphne," replied Neville as he shook Harry's hand. "I'll eave you be, as it looks like there are a number of reporters looking to speak with the newest member of the Wizengamot as soon as you step outside."

Harry noticed the crowd outside of the door to the hallway, and he groaned slightly. "You know how much I hate the press," he added softly.

Jonathan Greengrass clasped him on the shoulder, "I'll guide you through this and I will also help keep the meeting with those reporters brief. But before we head out into shark infested waters, let me offer you the name of my solicitor, as I am aware from Daphne that you still have a number of issues which you will be needing to settle shortly. While I am not fully aware of the nature of all of those concerns, I am sure that a little sound legal advise may be more than beneficial for you."

Harry nodded, "Thank you, Jonathan."

"My pleasure, son," said the Lord Greengrass. "I think it would be best if we presented a united front as business partners to the swarm that awaits you, it may help keep them away from your private life."

Harry smiled back, "Again, that will be most appreciated." The two men then followed Neville Longbottom out the door into the hallway and the awaiting crowd of reporters.

* * *

The next morning as Harry was eating his breakfast, the latest issue of the Daily Prophet arrived. Harry immediately noted the headline, which did not surprise him:

**Lord Potter-Black Takes His Seat on the Wizengamot**

Harry began reading the story that outlined Harry's taking his seats on the Wizengamot as Lord Potter and Lord Black. The article continued to elaborate on Harry's taking over the two houses. There were of course various questions about just when did Harry Potter take the mantle of the lordships for both houses, and how did he become the Lord Black. The writer made clear note of the fact that Lord Greengrass had presented Harry to the Wizengamot and even alluded to their business dealings that were easily discovered.

As the article on the front page concluded, Harry noted the various and usual teaser lines:

_For more information on the House of Potter, see page 4_

_For more information on the House of Black, see page 6_

_For more information on the business partnership between Lord Potter and Lord Greengrass, see Page 3_

The next headline that Harry noted on the bottom half of the page was:

**The Boy Who Lived : The Bachelor Who is Taken**

Harry laughed as he read in the article various speculations on how long he and Daphne had known each other and how long had they been an item. Various quotes from unnamed classmates and acquaintances stated such interesting items as "They've been secretly dating since fourth year. Everyone was talking about it in hushed tones, as they were in rival houses." Another close friend reportedly claimed "It was Greengrass, the Ice Princess who drove Harry and Ginevra Weasley apart, she tried breaking up that happy couple even during their time at school." Harry was starting to lose his sense of humour about the whole thing when he came across the quote that accused Daphne of using love potions to get the attention of Harry, but then he found the next quote helped him calm down a little as the article then suggested that he must have used love potions on her to get her to notice him.

Harry was sure, however, that Daphne would not find the article amusing at all when she read it. Daphne had returned to her parents home for a few days while Harry was working on tying up some loose ends around the manor and with the goblins. Harry hoped that the damage at the Greengrass home would not be too large once his fiancé saw the articles. Harry tossed the newspaper aside as he prepared to return to Gringotts.

It was only a sort time later when he found himself sitting in Ragnok's office, awaiting the arrival of the chief administrator for the London branch of Gringott's Bank. He was not waiting long when his goblin friend arrived with a brief apology for keeping his favourite customer waiting.

"Business, it never seems to slow down my friend," explained the goblin with a slight sigh. "And now, we have to finish the preparations for finalising the settlement of your debts, or rather, the settlement of the debts that are owed to you."

Harry nodded in agreement with the brief assessment. "I have decided who I would like to handle the meetings with the various individuals in my stead," he announced.

Ragnok raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "You do not wish to be present as the debts are paid off, or at least dismissed? You continue to surprise my friend."

Harry laughed slightly at what he felt was praise from the goblin. "Well, I decided that I would rather not witness the reactions to the offered settlements, from anyone. I guess that it would be easier on both them and on me for this to be concluded without my being there."

Ragnok nodded slightly as he acknowledged his understanding of Harry's concerns. "Well, then, who do you want to represent you for these encounters?" he asked, as he silently tried to predict just who this extraordinary wizard would pick for this important task.

Harry tried to keep the smile from forming on his face as he answered, "I would like to ask Irontooth to oversee the resolution of these matters for me."

Ragnok was definitely surprised at Harry's choice. "This is an unusual request. I had thought that you would have found my son's disrespect to be a little more off putting."

Harry's smile broadened, "If one were to think like a wizard, then yes, but if one were to think like a goblin…"

Ragnok grinned back. "Then who better to carry out your negotiations than one who is not afraid to show disrespect to anyone. It will definitely keep some of them off balance during the planned negotiations or meetings."

Harry then quickly added, "However, the acceptable restitution for any of the involved parties is non negotiable, particularly as I will not be in attendance for any of these meetings."

"All will be carried out, just as you have requested," agreed Ragnok. "I will bring in Irontooth and make sure he fully understands his role in all of what is to begin with the meetings tomorrow. And we will have your solicitor present as well, just as you have requested. Daniel MacKenzie, Esquire, has agreed to be present to represent your interests as you said that those people who have been invited for these meetings may be a little too unsettled to be in the presence of just goblins for the duration of the negotiations."

Ragnok thought to himself that the humans should be even more wary once they considered the fact that the only other human who would be present at the planned meetings was in fact, a lawyer.

* * *

Ronald Bilius Weasley. That was the name that was listed on the fancy envelope that had been delivered to the Burrow earlier the previous day. Ron had been surprised to receive any sort of fancy letter or invitation, and he was also surprised when he discovered that the fancy envelope held a simple invitation, or more realistically, a command for attendance at an important meeting at the London Branch of Gringotts. When his mother had seen the envelope, she was insisting that she accompany him to the meeting as there was no further information in the invitation that would explain just what he was being invited to attend. Ron truly did not want to be accompanied by anyone to the meeting, so he had made a quick floo call to his brother, Bill, who worked for the bank. Bill's initial response was a brief period of silence, and then he quickly added that Ron needed to attend and he needed to do so alone, just as the invitation had declared.

Molly Weasley was still upset, despite the reassurances from Bill that this was routine Gringotts' procedure for various types of encounters. Bill had then abruptly ended the floo call with Ron, who was left to his imagination about what the meeting could be about. He had dreams of it being about a long lost relative who had died and left the entire estate to just him, but soon Ron realised that he was truly not about to become suddenly rich. So he sat, alone, in the small conference room at Gringotts, awaiting for someone, anyone to arrive. Ron had actually heeded the advice of his brother and he had gone against his usual nature and he had arrived over twenty minutes early for the meeting.

Precisely at nine o'clock, the door tot he conference room opened and a tall man in a pinstripe muggle style business suit walked in with a large brief case. He was followed immediately by a goblin who appeared to Ron to have an expression that seemed more devious than any of those creatures than he had encountered in the past. Ron swallowed hard as he still was unsure what was about to happen. The man sat down across from Ron, and opened the brief case, and then placed a pad of parchment to his right and a large folder to his left. The man then picked up a quill and seemed poised to begin writing on the parchment, but he continued to sit sill, never taking his eyes off of either the parchment or the folder.

The goblin stood at the head of the table, and then he began to speak after briefly clearing his throat. "Mr. Weasley, you are here today for debt reconciliation."

Ron was surprised by this pronouncement. "Debt reconciliation? But I never took any loans from anyone!" he protested.

Irontooth narrowed his eyes on the red head. The glare immediately silenced him. "There are debts that are not monetary in nature," he hissed. After taking in a deep breath, Irontooth continued. "There is the matter of the life debt which you owe to Harry James Potter, also known as Lord Potter-Black."

Again, Ron's jaw dropped. "Bloody hell! Since when do I owe that murderous wanker a life debt?"

The solicitor looked up from the folder in front of him, peering over the top rim of his eyeglasses. He took the top parchment from the stack of papers and slid it over to the young man who was clearly not pleased with the direction of this meeting. "This form outlines the specifics, including the details of the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament in 1995. You were rescued from the bottom of the Black Lake by Lord Potter."

Ro was stunned, and then he argued, "But Dumbledore assured us after it was all over that we were never at ay real risk! We were told that we were all safe!"

Irontooth let out a slight noise that Ron was not sure if it was a growl or a chuckle, but Ron was sure he didn't want to find out what it really was. The goblin then explained, "At the time of the event, both you and Lord Potter were operating under the assumption that the rules as stated were in fact, true. Those rules stated that he had one hour to save what was taken from him. The Lord Potter participated in the task under the clear impression that people's lives were at risk, including his own."

"And he did have to fight both grindylows and merpeople to not only save you but to save Gabrielle Delacour as well," added the solicitor.

Irontooth then continued, "Which is why both your magic and Lord Potter's magic accepted that he put his life in danger to save yours. It is your own magic that has accepted the life debt."

Ron sank into his chair and let out a large sigh. He felt completely defeated, his former best mate, his friend who set standards in skill and bravery that Ron knew deep down inside that he could never keep up with, the very same person whom he blamed for the death of his only sister. He owed a life debt to Harry Potter. Ron's hands grasped his forehead as he wondered how could his life get any worse. After a couple of minutes sitting in silence, he finally looked up at the goblin and then at the solicitor.

"Fine," muttered Ron. "Whatever, but what does this mean? How do I pay _Lord_ Potter back?" Ron glared at the two others in the room with him. "I suppose that is why you are here? _Lord_ Potter is about to exact his pound of flesh, I suppose."

Daniel Mackenzie raised an eyebrow at the comment made by the young Weasley. Irontooth seemed taken aback and then he commented, "I am surprised that one such as yourself would know anything about the writings of the Bard, as most magicals never took time to read any of his works."

Ron thought about the comment from the goblin, and then he replied, "I don't know any bard, but that was a phrase I learned from my former girlfriend, whom Lord Potter must have turned against me somehow a couple of years ago."

Irontooth enjoyed watching the squirming of the red headed wizard in front of him. "It appears that you are lucky that the Lord Potter did not choose to make the payment match any writings of William Shakespeare. He has, however, outlined some very specific conditions under which he would happily release you from any debts to his person."

Ron wondered what his former friend would actually demand of him. Then the man across from him slid him a thin folder. Ron cautiously looked at the cover which bore an imprint of the following: Daniel Mackenzie, Esquire, Solicitor, Legal Services. Then Ron opened the folder to find several pieces of parchment.

The first parchment was a letter, addressed to Ron, and written by Harry.

_Ronald,_

_It seems like so long ago that we met on our first trip to Hogwarts at Kings Cross Station. You were the first real friend that I ever had. I will always remember that. However, it may be sad, but it is true, that we all change as we grow older, and we both have changed. We have grown beyond the friendship we had all of those years ago. _

_I am sure that you feel that somehow, either life, or the universe, or for some perverse reason, I owe you something. Ron, you need to grow up and realise that life is what you make of it, the universe is not at your beck and call, and that I really do not owe you anything. If you feel that your life has been so unfair, I am sorry to hear that, but I will not give that complaint a second thought. _

_I have chosen to move on with my life. To move on past Hogwarts, to move on past the war, and if necessary, to move on past magical England if that is what will be best for me. However, I need to tie up all of the loose ends of my life. One of those loose ends is a life debt which I only just discovered existed. I do not want to hold anything over you. My solicitor, Mr. Mackenzie, has been kind enough to attend this meeting at Gringotts and he will review with you all that needs to be done to release you from this life debt to me._

_I hope you take this opportunity and do the most with your life. _

_-Harry_

Ron read the letter silently and then he turned to the next parchment which seemed to be a simple contract. It merely stated that Harry James Potter would release Ronald Bilious Weasley from any and all existing life debts if Ron would keep several agreements. The parchment then listed one line. Ronald Bilious Weasley will abstain from alcohol and remain sober at all times.

Ron dropped the paper. He looked at the solicitor, "What the bloody hell is this?"

"It is a simple magical contract," stated Mackenzie with an even tone. "You may want to look at the next form in the folder."

Ron just glared at the solicitor and then he turned his gaze back to the folder and picked up the next parchment. As he started to peruse its words, Irontooth took the opportunity to explain this last part. "You will find, Mr. Weasley, that this next part offers additional incentive to you to accept the most generous offer from Lord Potter."

Ron then read the rest of the offer from his former best mate. This again was written as a legal contract. It began with the stipulation that Ron needed to maintain sobriety for a period of six months before this agreement would even be enacted. Upon completion of six months of sobriety, then Ron would be given an opportunity in which he could utilise the skills he has sown in the past, specifically his strategic skills honed from playing chess and studying quidditch. Harry would arrange for Ron to obtain the position of an assistant coach on a low tier quidditch team. That position would be guaranteed for one year. What Ron did with this opportunity, and what he made of himself after the opportunity would all be Ron's doing. Then Ron reached the last paragraph of the agreement. There would be no further contact from Ron Weasley. Ron would not be permitted to send him mail, contact him through the floo. He would not be allowed to do this for any reason. Not to thank Harry, not to apologise to Harry. The final sentence of the document struck Ron's core.

_Ronald, you need to move on with your life, I am moving on with mine, take care of yourself._

Ron finished reading the document and he looked up at the solicitor. "If I agree to all of this, I would like to be able to speak to Harry once more. Just one more time." His eyes were watering and his expression was pleading.

Irontooth spoke up, "The Lord Potter made his concerns very clear in the agreement before you. You risk jeopardising this chance you have before you."

Mackenzie could sense there was some sincerity in Ron's request. "These are magically binding documents, created by the goblin nation. I cannot guarantee that Lord Potter will contact you, but I can let him know of your request."

Ron closed his eyes as he considered his options while holding onto the several sheets in front of him. He was being given a chance to do something with his life, but it would mean that he would have no further contact with his best mate. Something inside of himself urged him to take action. After a few minutes in silent contemplation, he looked up again.

"Fine, where do I sign?"

* * *

At eleven that same morning, a large man was sitting in the same conference room at Gringotts. He was there with his two daughters, who were both strikingly beautiful blonde women. The fact that they were both quarter veela had something to do with their beauty. The older sister was now 24 years old and she was currently expecting her second child with her husband, who despite being an employee of the bank, was not allowed to be in attendance for the meeting that was about to begin. Fleur Delacour Weasley held her sister's hand tightly. Gabrielle Delacour was now 16 and was perhaps even more strikingly beautiful than her older sister.

Gabrielle and Fleur were both very anxious. Gabrielle went to say something to her father, to ask what was taking so long, but he gently quieted her. "The goblins will be here shortly. I am not sure if Lord Potter-Black will be present or not. But just relax, we know that Harry is a good man. I am sure things will be all right. We just have to be patient a little longer, mon cherie."

"But Papa," asked Gabrielle with a pleading tone, "then why are we here today?"

Fleur tried to answer for her father. "Harry has arranged for several meetings here today. I presume it must have something to do with the tournament." She lifted her hand from her sister and placed her arm around her to draw her into a comforting hug. Just as she was doing this, in walked a tall bespectacled man and a short but intimidating looking goblin. Fleur considered that most goblins appeared intimidating, but then she realised that this particular goblin seemed to take their innate intimidation to a new level.

The man sat down placing a large folder in front of himself, and then he quickly opened it up to reveal two smaller folders. Sebastien Delacour quickly noted that each of the folders had a name emblazoned on the top with the seal of the solicitor towards the bottom. He took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves as this meeting was truly about to begin.

Daniel Mackenzie, the solicitor, spoke first. "Monsieur Delacour, Mrs. Weasley, and Mademoiselle Delacour, thank you for travelling here today, particularly two you Monsieur and you Mademoiselle for coming here all of the way from France. We do have important business which we need to conclude here today, so we best get on with it then."

"We best," agreed Sebastien tersely, unsure of just where this meeting was destined to go.

Irontooth then spoke up. "We are here today to settle matters of Lord Harry James Potter with respect to both Fleur Delacour Weasley and Gabrielle Delacour."

Sebastien Delacour was not particularly pleased as he was still not sure where this meeting was heading. "Just what matters are these?" demanded Monsieur Delacour.

Irontooth spoke up at this potential outburst, "There is a simple matter of life debts, owed to Lord Potter, by each of your daughters. The purpose of this meeting, which is being conducted at Lord Potter's request, is to put these matters behind him and your daughters in a manner that as he stated, 'would be most beneficial to all involved parties,' yes, I think those were his precise words."

The goblin's toothy smiled unnerved all of the Delacours, and was even a bit unsettling for Mr. Mackenzie, who then broke the awkward silence as he agreed with Irontooth, "I do believe that you are correct, those were his words."

There was a collective moan from the other three. "And just how does Lord Potter expect to resolve these matters? My daughter Fleur is already married. I have read in the papers here that Lord Potter is involved with some lady, so I would find it highly unsatisfactory if he dared to presume that he could…"

Irontooth cut off the building tirade of Monsieur Delacour. "I think that we would all benefit from just listening to the proposal from the Lord Potter before anyone jumps to any hasty conclusions."

Everyone nodded in agreement with this, but Sebastien was still visibly agitated. Daniel then withdrew the top form from each of the folders in front of him. He then began to read. "These documents summarise the nature of the life debts owed to Lord Potter. That being the life debt of one Gabrielle Delacour that occurred on the event of the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament in 1995, when his lordship did rescue Mademoiselle from the Black Lake after her sister, Madam Weasley, was incapacitated. Then there is the life debt of one Fleur Delacour Weasley, having occurred during the event of the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament in 1995, with the rescuing of her from the attack by one Viktor Krum."

Fleur protested, "But the headmaster, Monsieur Dumbledore, he assured us after the task was over that Gabrielle was never truly in danger. He also assured us that we were never truly in danger within the maze!"

Irontooth addressed the concerns. "The life debt was established for Gabrielle because at the time, both she and Lord Potter were under the distinct impression that her life truly was in jeopardy. The veela nature, which you and your sister both share, did place the two of you at greater risk of harm under the water. The magical core for both Lord Potter and Mademoiselle Gabrielle acknowledged that risk and thus the life debt was established. In your case, Madam Weasley, the risks posed to you by the actions of Viktor Krum, who at the time was suffering from the imperious curse which had been cast by a Death Eater, did truly create a threatening situation to such a degree, particularly in light of the details that were soon revealed after this, that said Death Eater, had arranged for Lord Potter to be murdered by Tom Marvalo Riddle during the ritual which ultimately lead to the death of one Cedric Diggory. Therefore, the magical core for both the Lord Potter and yourself acknowledged that risk of harm and the life debt was created. Does that sufficiently explain the creation of the life debts?"

Sebastien Delacour sat down heavily in the chair behind his daughters. "Yes," he said tiredly, "yes it does answer my questions."

At this time, Irontooth noted that Gabrielle was in tears, and that Fleur was simply holding her hand over her mouth. Irontooth then looked at Daniel Mackenzie who then removed the next parchments from each of the folders.

He began to read:

"My dearest Gabrielle, it was through no action of yours that you found yourself in the situation at the bottom of the Black Lake. All of us were manipulated into thinking that there was truly a risk to everyone's lives, and we all responded accordingly, acting to the best of our abilities. I am sure that Fleur would have much preferred that you were not involved in that tournament in any way. Also, I am well aware that you are still not considered of age in Magical England, so it is to your father that I direct my next statement. Monsieur Delacour, I have only one request of you, and that is that House Delacour would become and would remain a friend to House Potter. Upon swearing such an oath, nothing more, nothing less, without any further obligations, I can and will release the life debt of Gabrielle Delacour."

Upon finishing reading this letter, Gabrielle gasped and hugged her father who pulled her tightly into his body in a warm embrace. Then, brushing a small tear from his eye, he looked at the solicitor as he replied, "That is such a small thing to ask to erase such a large debt. Of course, it will be done. I will do it now, if I could."

"In just a moment," accepted Daniel, "but I need to read the next letter before we can complete the required oath." He then turned and faced Fleur.

"My dearest Fleur, it seems like such a long time ago that we met in that side room, and you commented that I was such a little boy. I think I have grown a little since then, and I am thankful that we have been able to become friends. In fact, it is I who owe you and your husband William for taking me in during my time fleeing from the Death Eaters leading up to the final confrontation with Riddle at the Battle of Hogwarts. You and Bill and the rest of the Weasley family took me in during very difficult times. You all became the family I never had. This love that you and your family have shown me over the years is more than I could ever ask for. Therefore, I release you from any obligations of the life debt as I consider it paid in full and then some with what you have already done for me."

Fleur began to weep with joy as she realised that not only had Harry released her sister from any repercussions of the life debt, but he had also released her. She began to speak, asking the solicitor how she could thank Harry.

Daniel gently quieted her as he then began to read the final letter. "All I have to ask of either of you, Gabrielle and Fleur, is that you both move on beyond this, live your lives the way you see fit, for I am moving on with my life. I am not expecting any reply, any formal thank you or acknowledgement of what has been discussed today. I have no intention of discussing this with anyone to any extent after today."

With finishing that statement, Mackenzie put the papers back into the respective folders, and then he handed one to Monsieur Delacour and then one to Fleur. "Irontooth will lead you in completing that oath, now," he added.

As soon as the oath was finished, Daniel Mackenzie collected his things and stood and bowed to the three guests. Then he turned and left the room, quickly followed by Irontooth. Upon meeting up in the hall, Irontooth spoke to the solicitor. "Well, there certainly was not as much drama in this past meeting as we had in the first," he said with a sneer.

Mackenzie laughed slightly at this comment. "I think that our next meeting will grant you plenty of drama when we meet with the representatives from the ministry."

Irontooth's eyes twinkled, which disturbed the solicitor. "I am sure it will be so much more entertaining," said the goblin with anticipation.

* * *

**AN: I chose to end this chapter here as it was getting longer and I wanted to take the time to develop the next several parts properly. Thanks again for all of the reviews and comments. There are still some twists ahead…**


	24. Chapter 24 Life debts

**AN: Thanks for all of the comments and the feedback. Now approaching 700 favourites and 900 alerts….thanks for your support. So, without further ado…the next chapter…**

* * *

The meeting with the Delacours had just finished and Daniel Mackenzie returned to his office. He knew he only had two hours before he would have to return to Gringotts for the meeting with the Minister for Magic and the other representatives. Upon locking himself in his office he sat down behind his desk and pulled out his bottle of Ogden's Best. He poured a small amount into a shot glass which he had pulled out of another drawer. Slowly he brought the glass up to his lips, but before he could throw it back, a voice called out to him.

"Are you sure that is the best thing for you to be doing right now, with the next meeting you have scheduled perhaps being the most important one?"

Mackenzie dropped the glass in his surprise and he looked around as he called out, "Potter! How the bloody hell did you get in here? Show yourself!"

Harry pulled off his invisibility cloak as he appeared behind his attorney. "I am right behind you," commented Harry with a slight laugh. "I just followed you in off of the street. It wouldn't do me any good to be seen around here by anyone who might know that I am supposed to be meeting with officials from the ministry this afternoon."

Daniel nodded as he turned around to look at Harry, who by now was walking around from behind the desk and took up a seat across from the solicitor. Harry seemed very much at ease as he put his feet up on the desk. "Go ahead, you may want to have that drink," he said as he flicked his wand and the glass appeared back on the table. "In fact, I think I'll join you with a quick drink." With another flick of his wand he conjured a second shot glass.

Daniel was a little more relaxed now as he poured the fire whiskey into the two matching shot glasses. Harry lifted his up to propose a toast, so Daniel followed suit.

"To the future of Ministry of Magic, may it begin anew, rising like a phoenix out of the ashes of the past administrations!"

Daniel smiled as he responded, "I'll drink to that." Then together they threw the clear liquid down their throats. Harry choked slightly on the burning sensation while Daniel merely wiped his eyes which watered briefly.

Harry then began to ask his solicitor how the morning sessions went with both Ron and with the Delacours.

"I suppose Irontooth had more fun with handling Ronald," surmised Harry.

"That he did," agreed Daniel. "By the time we were done with our meeting with Sebastien and his daughters I think they all would have hugged and kissed you if you were there."

Harry grinned slightly, "I can imagine, and I am happy to just leave it at that." Harry then changed the subject to the meeting that was about to begin. "I presume that you and Irontooth have everything ready for the next meeting."

"We better, considering the fees we are both charging you for this service," he replied with a wink. He then pulled out a few more files and then placed them in a leather brief case. "I think we have everything ready. This meeting may take a little longer, but I am sure we will do fine. After all, there is really not that much they have to bargain with."

Harry nodded his approval of the assessment of the situation.

Then Daniel added, "Oh there is one more thing. Mr. Weasley has requested, if it were at all possible, that he could be given a chance to speak with you face to face, one last time. Of course, we promised nothing, I merely stated that I would pass that information along to you."

* * *

It was early afternoon on a lovely day in March. There were many witches and wizards walking up and down Diagon Alley, enjoying the unseasonably warm afternoon as they strolled down the famous business district that had continued to grow over the years since the end of the second war with the Dark Lord Voldemort. Obviously, not all of the same businesses had returned, as some of the proprietors had not survived the war. Of course there were the usual mainstays of business: Fortescue's Ice Cream Shoppe, Madam Malkins' Robes for All Occasions, Flourish and Blotts and of course Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

The patrons who were mostly window shopping were in for a slight surprise when the noticed a group of four people heading towards Gringotts, surrounded by several Aurors. In the middle of the group was the unmistakable Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister For Magic, who was accompanied by Amos Diggory, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. There were accompanied by the recently appointed head of the DMLE, Malcolm Savage. The fourth person with them was not familiar to most of the people of magical England, as he was Algernon Croaker, head of the Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries. The four men were quickly ushered in to Gringotts where a group of goblins were patiently awaiting their arrival. The leader of the goblin welcoming committee bowed and quickly indicated that the four me should follow him. The guards in the lobby of the bank made it clear that the Aurors who had accompanied the four leaders from the Ministry of Magic were not welcome to join them to the meeting room. Soon the four men found themselves sitting in a large conference room, seated on one side of a long table. A minute after they had arrived, Daniel Mackenzie, Esquire, walked into the room with a leather brief case. He quietly walked to the far side of the table, opened up his brief case and quickly removed several folders and placed them neatly on the table in front of him. He then put his briefcase on the floor beside his chair, and then he proceeded to take his seat. Once he had done all of this, he then looked up at the four men opposite him.

"Good afternoon, Minister, Chief Warlock, Mr. Savage, and Mr. Croaker I presume," he said in a pleasant but quiet voice. "I do believe that Ragnok shall be joining us shortly. He and his son Irontooth will be here to oversee this meeting which I have called."

Malcolm Savage was an impatient man. "Now see here, Mackenzie is it? Just who do you think you are calling us away from our busy schedule to meet with these goblins? We do have more important things to do than waste our time with the likes of them!"

Daniel Mackenzie's face remained impassive and he showed no outward reaction to the verbal attack from the head of the DMLE. Before he could voice a response, Algernon Croaker spoke up.

"Malcolm, my friend, I think it would be best if you were to hold your tongue. I have already reviewed much of the information which we are about to discuss prior to coming to this meeting. I think we will all find it most educational, if not at least a little disturbing." Croaker's comments caused the other three men to reconsider just what sort of business they were getting themselves into with this meeting.

Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke up. "Gentlemen, we are here simply to represent the Ministry of Magic in what we have been informed is a very important revelation that may have grave effects on our lives and our government. I think we best just settle down and wait for our hosts to present to us the information which they feel is so urgent and of such importance that the four of us were summoned for this discussion."

Savage was still visibly irritated about having to be at a meeting being run by goblins, but he started to relax slightly as he was not sure just how long they would have to wait.

At precisely 1:30 in the afternoon, at the pre-arranged time for the meeting to commence, the door swung open and two goblins walked into the room and took seats at the head of the table.

"Greetings Minister, and respected associates, in case you have never met me, I am Ragnok, Chief Administrator of the London Offices of Gringotts Bank." His toothy grin did nothing to comfort any of the four men from the Ministry of Magic. "With us today is Irontooth, my son and the senior account manager for Lord Harry James Potter. Also joining us today is Lord Potter's solicitor, Daniel Mackenzie, Esquire."

Ragnok then sat down in his chair without another word or gesture. At this time, Irontooth stood up and began to explain the situation. "Gentlemen, we here at Gringotts pride ourselves in the reliability of all services which we provide for our customers, the citizens of the magical world. Our vaults are the most secure that you will find anywhere in the world. Our mages and seers provide the most reliable rituals for determining blood status, inheritance evaluations, as well as other less commonly used methods for assuring the veracity of various claims made by or about other magical beings. One of these rituals was recently performed on Lord Harry James Potter. He was seeking to determine what debts that he might owe others, or what others might owe him, as he was eager to make sure that he was not beholden to anyone or any group. Upon completing a very important task for the goblin nation, Lord Potter was found to be indebted to no individual or group of individuals. However, this ritual did discover that there were several individuals who owed his lordship a life debt. Of note, and a most unusual occurrence this turned out to be, was the most unique life debt that the goblin nation has ever encountered. It was so unusual that we shared our findings with the Unspeakables, specifically with Mister Croaker. It is this information that we are here to discuss with you."

Savage and Diggory looked at Croaker, whose expression was blank at this time. Shacklebolt noted the non verbal interaction and then turned back to Irontooth. "Please share with us just what this finding is that you have described as unique. That is why we are all here," he added.

Irontooth seemed to be enjoying himself more than a goblin normally would in the presence of so many wizards. "It appears that Lord Potter is owed a life debt from all of magical England, from the Ministry of Magic itself."

The three men who had not seen this information previously were all astonished. The silence was broken as Amos Diggory spoke up. "But that is preposterous!" he exclaimed. "That cannot be. There is no precedence for such a thing. We cannot accept such a debt!"

Kingsley remained silent and again he took note of the impassive reaction from his head of the Unspeakables. "Algernon," he calmly stated, "I presume that this is the information that you were asked to review by the goblins. Have you seen the information of which they speak that was gained from their ritual? Have you had the chance to validate their findings?"

Algernon sat quietly and slowly assessed the three men who had accompanied him for this meeting from the Ministry of Magic. "I have reviewed all of the information which they presented to us. IN fact, I was even able to repeat the ritual that had been performed on Lord Potter, and I was able to completely confirm all of the information which Irontooth has just shared with you."

Diggory's jaw dropped. "Bloody hell, that boy is still trying to embarrass all of us at the Ministry. Do his pride and ego have no bounds? What other scheme will he come up with next?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt raised an eyebrow at Amos Diggory's outburst. "My friend," he started quietly, "I think you would best be served by settling down. First of all, we all know Lord Potter, and Harry has never been one to try and embarrass us, or to seek fame or glory from his actions. He has made no demands on us. If there is a life debt, it is not of Harry's doing, but it is magic itself calling out for justice." Kingsley then turned to Croaker, "Is that not the nature of a life debt? Is it not beyond our decision, but inherent in the very core of our magic, that when a life debt is owed, our magical core recognises this subconsciously even if we are not cognisant of the debt?"

"That would be an accurate statement, Minister," answered Croaker. As Diggory and Savage just stared at him in silence, he then continued, "It is true that I have verified the authenticity of the findings of he debt ritual, and it is completely unheard of for an entire group of people, let alone a government, to owe a life debt to any one." He then turned to Mr. Savage. "Malcolm, as head of the DMLE, you are well versed in what legal obligations may exist when an individual owes another witch or wizard a life debt. Would it not then be the same when the Ministry of Magic owes this life debt?"

Malcolm Savage was quickly running through his mind the various ramifications and relevant laws as he tried to extrapolate the information to pertain to the current situation. "There would clearly be a legally binding debt that can be called in through a number of ways. However, as we have never had to deal with such a situation before, I am not sure just what this will entail for the ministry."

Irontooth now spoke up after the men had finished their brief discussion and debate, "I do believe that Mister Mackenzie has a letter to read to you from Lord Potter."

The attention of the four men was now drawn to the solicitor.

Daniel cleared his throat as he pulled a letter out of one folder and then he began to read:

_Dear sirs, _

_It is an odd situation that I find myself in, being owed a life debt from all of magical England. As you are now aware, I have begun to seek restitution for this life debt. However, there are things that need to be understood fully before this debt can be released. There will be things that need to be done before every magical man, woman and child is released from this bond._

_First, there needs to be acknowledgement of the wrongs that have been done. The wrongs done to me personally since the time my parents died. The wrongs done to me during my time at Hogwarts, including those perpetuated by the Ministry of Magic itself. The wrongs done to me through the press over the years through their blatantly false and shoddy journalism in the name of sensationalism. The wrongs done to other students at Hogwarts during my time due to actions and inactions of the faculty and staff. The wrongs done by magical society as a whole in allowing and supporting the way it deals with the class system it has created. Magical England treats pure-bloods different from half bloods, and even more so than muggle borns. This is a travesty of justice that will no longer be tolerated in our world._

_Second, the Ministry of Magic must make it absolutely clear that there is only one class of person — those who can use magic. It will no longer matter if someone comes from a pure-blood family, or if they are a first generation magic user. Such distinctions in the eyes of the Ministry and the people only foster dissent, anger and distrust, the perfect breeding ground for more dark lords to arise._

_Justice needs to be afforded to all. The evils that have been committed in the past forty years can be blamed in part on the way the Wizengamot operates and the government allowing of bribes. There is a solution to this. Our government needs to be changed. It needs to work for all magical citizens. Obviously, we cannot just abandon everything that we have, we cannot abandon all of the traditions of magical society. We can however, work on making changes. Such changes should include a separate judicial body from the Wizengamot. A panel of judges, appointed by the Minister For Magic, and approved by the Wizengamot, should be established, similar to non magical America. Also, we should update the Wizengamot to be more of an image of our non magical British counterparts. We should have a second governing body, equivalent to the House of Commons, an elected body which can have representatives that are muggle born, or half blood or even pure-blood. New laws would need to be approved by both the Wizengamot and this new house. _

_If these changes are enacted within the next six months, then the life debt owed to me by the Ministry of Magic and all of magical England will be released._

_Sincerely, _

_Lord Harry James Potter_

Daniel Mackenzie put down the parchment and looked across the table at the four men. Croaker had an unreadable expression, whereas Shacklebolt appeared contemplative. However, the other two men appeared to be nearly apoplectic.

Amos Diggory was the first to blow. "How dare he!" he blustered. "He has no right to do this! He can't force our hands! Why, this is treason, that what this is! Savage should go arrest him right now! Throw him in Azkaban! He's trying to destroy our society!"

The other men all just stared at him. Algernon Croaker spoke up first. "Excuse me, Chief Warlock, but there is no treason in any of Lord Potter's statements. He actually clearly states that he supports the position of Minister For Magic and he is proposing changes to our government, not overthrowing of the ministry. Changes that Lord Potter obviously believes would be beneficial."

Diggory dismissed Croakers comments with a wave of his hand. "Beneficial to who? To us? I think not! This is just some grand scheme of his to garner more attention for himself. He wants to be back in the spotlight!"

Kingsley Shacklebolt scoffed. The other men were surprised that the Minister For Magic reacted in such a clear and vocal manner. "Amos, my friend, listening to you speak makes me wonder if you have ever met Lord Potter, before the other day when he joined the Wizengamot."

"Of course I met him!" exclaimed Diggory. "I met him before the Quidditch World Cup. And then of course there was that whole fiasco with the Tri-Wizard Tournament where he was responsible for my son Cedric being killed."

Kingsley shook his head in dismay. "The events at the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament are in no way the fault of Lord Potter. We are all sorry for the death of your son, and Harry truly felt responsible for what happened. But it is well known that it was a disguised Death Eater who entered Harry into that tournament, that it was that same Death Eater who made the port key that took Harry and Cedric into the graveyard, for the sole purpose of resurrecting Voldemort and to kill Harry. The war was not Harry's fault."

Amos was becoming incensed that the minister was sticking up for the attention seeker that caused his son's death. "My son _died_ in that war. No thanks to Harry Potter. My family was torn apart because of what happened that night."

By now, Savage was averting his eyes from the Chief Warlock as he was embarrassed to witness this outburst. Kingsley spoke up again, trying to maintain a comforting and friendly tone despite his growing frustration with the man sitting next to him.

"And what about Harry? He lost his parents when he was merely a toddler. He lost friends, his godfather, teachers, family. He lived a horrible life hidden away from the magical world before he went to Hogwarts while we all enjoyed the peace that was brought about by his parents' sacrifice, by the miracle of his becoming the boy-who-lived. And now you aim to place the blame on that young man for the war that was caused by our generation and the generations before us to allow bigotry and hate to grow and enable a person such as Voldemort to gain the power he did and to gain his followers and unleash their terror upon our society. None of that was the fault of Harry Potter. And now, Harry actually has come up with a plan to help us prevent another Dark Lord from ever arising again. And you want to vilify the man who withstood years of loneliness and betrayal but still stood firm against the darkness and defeated the man who was once known as Tom Riddle."

Amos Diggory sat in shock. He had never before felt the experience of being admonished so completely, and he realised he had no recourse at this time.

The silence that followed the impromptu speech from the minister lasted a few awkward minutes.

Malcolm Savage cleared his throat and then he turned to face his colleague, the head of the Unspeakables. "So, Croaker, apparently you were already made aware of this little bit of news. So, I have to ask you the next most important question, have you figured out what would happen if we ignore the young lord's demands?"

Croaker looks thoughtful as he silently considers the question that was posed to him. Even Mackenzie seems eager to hear the response to the question, despite having already been filled in on the goblins' assessment of what would happen if the life debt was to be called in.

"I have not had time to sufficiently review the possible ramifications and the effects of such a magical situation, should the life debt be called in due to a refusal to comply with the requests," answered Croaker softly. "There are, however, several possibilities that come to mind."

There was an anxious silence as all eyes in the room implored him to continue.

The Unspeakable allowed a rare but faint smile to cross his face, and then he began again. "First, it is actually possible, although highly unlikely, based on what is known about the nature of life debts, that if we failed to comply with Lord Potter's requests and he called in said life debts that absolutely nothing would happen. The second consideration would be that there would be a loss of magic for those either in office or int he employ of the Ministry, or perhaps those who are members of the Wizengamot. The third possibility that comes to mind would be the loss of magical core strength of the population of magical England, which could possibly be channeled into Lord Potter's own core, thus increasing his own strength and magical power."

Croaker waited for the gasps and muttering to continue, and then he held up a hand as a gesture to get the others to stop their chattering and then he continued. "The fourth consideration which I have come up with is that it could lead to a collapse of the Ministry through some sort of magical means beyond anything that Potter could do as an individual, a sort of act of the magical fates as it were. Of course, all of those suppositions could be completely off base, and the actual consequences could be much worse or much more trivial."

"It still sounds treasonous to me," commented Diggory. "Perhaps it will amount to nothing. Perhaps this is just Potter trying to blackmail the Ministry."

Mackenzie couldn't help himself as he scoffed at the comment made by the Chief Warlock. "And just why would Lord Potter feel the need to blackmail the Ministry?"

"I don't know," snarled Diggory in reply. "Maybe because he is an ungrateful little bastard who likes to exploit his fame and strut around like a pompous fool. He thinks he is so high a mighty. Why, I'll have you all know that my Cedric once beat him in Quidditch when they were students, beat the amazing Harry Potter and caught the snitch."

"As I recall," comments Shacklebolt, "the only reason why your son caught the snitch instead of Harry was that he was attacked by dementors during the game. But enough of this foolishness." Kingsley turned and looked at the goblins and then at the solicitor sitting across from them. "We will need to discuss this further, as this will need to be considered, and even if we agree to follow up on Lord Potter's demands, we will need to come up with a plan for how to introduce such ideas to the Wizengamot."

Daniel Mackenzie was a wise wizard and he knew better than to expect anything more than such a response from the four men in front of him. "I am sure that Lord Potter will be eager to hear your reply, as soon as you have had a chance to properly review the situation. I will leave the four of you with copies of the requests, documenting exactly what was discovered by the ritual and what Lord Potter's expectations are for resolving the situation. Good day to all of you." After sliding a thin folder to each of the men, the solicitor closed his briefcase, then he arose from the table and left the room without another word to any of them.

Before anyone could respond, Irontooth spoke up once more. "You have your information, you need to act quickly on this, as I do not believe that Lord Potter's patience on this matter is infinite." With those final words, the goblins, too, departed the room.

* * *

The afternoon was winding down, the shadows from the buildings in Diagon Alley were all growing longer. There was the usual bell ringing on the door, indicating that someone had just entered Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The shop was unusually quiet, but it was getting close to closing time and the children who would like to frequent the shop were mostly at school. The read headed man who was busy reorganising some shelves turned slightly to see who had just walked in.

Ronald Weasley was shocked to see the familiar green eyes staring at him.

"Harry, mate," said Ron hesitantly. "I gather you got the message, that I wanted to talk to you."

"Yes, Ron, I got the message," said Harry tersely. "And to be clear about things, I was very serious in the conditions in my letter to you. I do not plan on having any further contact than this meeting here."

Ron gulped slightly at the harshness of Harry's words. "So, that's the way it is now. You become _Lord_ Potter and you're too good for the likes of me." Ron's irritation was evident in his tone.

"No, Ron, that's not it at all," replied Harry coolly. "You just don't get it, and maybe you never will. I never asked to be Lord Potter, or Lord Black, those are things that just happened to me. Everything I've been through, for the most part, I've just been had to endure. I didn't ask to become some sort of hero because a crazed dark wizard was fixated on some prophesy and targeted me for death when I was a baby. And pretty much, everything has just cascaded from that point on. You used to understand that. I don't know when you stopped understanding that. Maybe it was during our fourth year when you actually believed that I put my name in to enter that tournament to try and win the pitiful sum of 1,000 galleons. And ever since the war ended, you've been trying to compare yourself to me. You'll be going round the twist if you don't stop Ron."

There was an awkward silence. The Harry began to speak again, this time with a friendlier attitude. "When I learned about the life debts, the ones owed to me from you, and others, that got me thinking. The goblins explained that our magic understood there was a life debt that was owed. That life debt has been tearing you apart insides, or at least, I think that may be part of it. It's gone now Ron, as long as you keep your part of the agreement."

Ron wasn't sure what to say at first. "But we were best mates, we used to do everything together. And now you want to throw that all away, and we have nothing left? You're barmy, mate."

Harry shook his head. He decided to try one last time to help Ron understand. "What we had, we will never be able to reclaim that. We were foolish and ignorant children, thrust into the adult world of deceit, prejudice and war. We didn't ask for it. No one prepared us for it. And hardly anyone even thanked us for it along the way. We each lost friends and family, we have suffered, we have been praised and vilified. It is time for us to move on. Make peace with your past, Ron. Make peace with yourself. Perhaps we can even make peace with each other. But we can never go back to what once was, and will never be again." With those words, Harry turned and walked out of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, never to step foot in the store again.

* * *

It was early April, and Draco's wedding was quickly approaching. The sun was shining brightly as Harry approached Gringotts Bank for his final meeting in regard to the life debts he was owed. As he approached the lobby, Irontooth was waiting for him, and immediately beckoned for Harry to follow him.

Harry bowed slightly to Irontooth. "It is good to see you my friend." Irontooth inclined his head slightly to acknowledge Harry's greeting. "And before I forget," added Harry, "could you let your father know after we finish this meeting that I wish to speak with him about an important matter."

"It will be done," answered Irontooth.

As he led Harry to the conference room, he asked a question, "So why have you decided to participate in this session? You couldn't have been bothered to be present for any of the others. Not even to meet with the Minister For Magic."

Harry smiled as he answered. "It's quite simple, Irontooth. It's just because Hermione is my friend, she's been my best friend for many years."

Irontooth scowled at this thought. "You are calling in a life debt from a friend? How odd, you are, human, how odd indeed," As he finished those words, he opened up the door to the conference room and led Harry to a seat at the table. "Your best friend should be joining us shortly," he added with a smirk.

Harry didn't have much time to contemplate Irontooth's smirk when he heard a knock on the door to the conference room. Irontooth opened the door and gestured for the people standing there to join them at the table.

A goblin stood in the door, and he was flanked by a young woman whom Harry was expecting and a tall thin young man whom Harry had no idea who he was. He stood up and crossed the room and greeted Hermione with a hug. He smiled as they stepped back, and then he asked with a slightly bewildered tone, "So, who's this tag along? I thought I only invited you to this meeting."

Hermione frowned at her best friend. "Now just a minute Harry," she snapped as she wagged her finger at him. "I get this letter telling me I have an important meeting at Gringotts that I must attend just before I am to go to Draco and Astoria's wedding. For all I know they are still mad at me for the whole dragon and LeStrange vault escapade."

Harry interrupts her with a smile. "Hey, take a breath. The meeting is with _me_, Hermione, I thought they would have told you more about the meeting." He looks at the man who is shifting awkwardly form one foot to the other. "So, any explanation about Mister 'Tall, Dark, and Mysterious' standing over here?"

Hermione blushed slightly, as she started to introduce the man. "Oh, sorry, Harry, this is Flynn…"

Hermione was cut off as Flynn stepped forward and stuck out his hand to shake Harry's as he began to introduce himself. "Flynn, Flynn Carsen," he said in a distinctly American accent. "You must be Harry. I've heard so much about you. I heard from Hermione that you had to acquire Ascalon, the lance of St. George. I really would like to have the chance to discuss with you anything you would like to share about the lance, about what you had to do to obtain it. You know, I had a little adventure last year where I had to obtain the Spear of Destiny. Have you heard of the Spear of Destiny?"

Harry's expression was one of dismay as he realised he could not get a word in edgewise. Suddenly Flynn let out a slight grunt due to the fact that Hermione had just implanted her right heel in the middle of his left shin. As tears were coming out of Flynn's eyes, he muttered, "Sorry Hermione, I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

Harry looked quizzically back and forth between the flushed Hermione and the slightly pained Flynn.

Hermione let out a sigh as she started to explain, "Flynn is my date for the wedding. Actually, Harry, Flynn is more than my date for the wedding, we started dating a couple of months ago. Flynn is a librarian."

Flynn now interrupted, "Actually, I am _the_ librarian. The librarian for the Metropolitan Public Library. It's more than just a library for books. We collect artefacts, certain rare and special artefacts."

Harry just nodded to placate Hermione's boyfriend. "Sounds absolutely brilliant, I am sure," said Harry, the sarcasm dripping off of his words like water dripping off the leaves of a tree after a summer rain. Then he turned back to his best friend. "We _do_ have a meeting we need to get down to and finish some simple but important business. Its up to you if you want Flynn to join us, because this is actually a personal issue between you and me."

Irontooth now cleared his throat, which came out more as a raspy growl. "Lord Potter, Miss Granger, we rally must get on with this meeting and address the issues at hand."

Upon hearing the terse comments from the goblin, Harry reclaimed his seat on the far side of the table and then Hermione sat across from him and Flynn took a seat by her side.

"Very well," began Irontooth. "We are to commence with the review of the reason for this meeting. Upon review of all debts owed by and owed to Lord Potter, it was determined that there is an outstanding life debt that is owed to his Lordship from one Hermione Jean Granger."

Flynn spoke up excitedly, "Whoa there, you're talking a real honest to goodness life debt here?" He then turned to face Harry. "You're just simply going to collect a life debt?" he asked incredulously.

Harry was about to say something but he noted that Hermione was already responding. Her gaze was intense as she simply stated, "Flynn, remember how you asked me to let you know if you were intruding into a conversation where you shouldn't be? _This_ is one of those times."

Harry looked at Hermione and gave a subtle nod of thanks, and then he turned to face Flynn. "Look, I'm sure you mean well, but I really just want to get this done, so, either you let us continue in peace, or Irontooth will have one of his friends escort you out of here."

Flynn glanced at Irontooth whose toothy grin was quite disconcerting for the American. He silently nodded to Harry that he understood.

Hermione now spoke to Irontooth, "I understand that there is a life debt, but what I want to know is for which incident? Do I owe Harry more than one? Considering everything we have gotten into together over the years."

Harry shook his head as he listened to Hermione prattle on. Irontooth held back a laugh at her words and then he explained, "There is only one life debt, Miss Granger, and it apparently occurred on October 31, 1991."

"That would be the troll in the bathroom during first year, then," commented Hermione as simply as recalling facts she had revised for an exam.

Flynn gulped, "A troll, when you were eleven?"

Harry cast a stern look at Flynn, "Actually, I was still eleven, Hermione had just turned twelve, and yes, it was a mountain troll, let into the school by a professor. But that's in the past, and you need to not interrupt again. I am sure that Hermione would be more than happy to fill in the details once this is all settled."

"Um, sure," agreed Flynn as he looked over his shoulder at the door to make sure Irontooth wasn't calling in a 'friend'.

Hermione looked at Harry and then set fixed her eyes on him. Her demeanour was clearly not pleased. "What is this all about Harry? I don't understand why you are doing this?"

Harry gave her his trademark lopsided grin, and she noted a slight sparkle in his eyes. "It is like Irontooth explained, I am settling all of my debts, including dents owed to me. Irontooth and my solicitor already dealt with Ron, and with the Delacour girls, as well as the ministry."

Hermione was stunned. "The ministry?" she asked. "As in the Ministry of Magic?"

"One and the same," he said proudly.

"You didn't owe them anything, did you?" Hermione's tone clearly hinted at her concern.

"Of course not," answered Harry with a smile. "I had no idea that a government or a country could owe a life debt to an individual, but that is a story for another time."

Hermione's jaw had dropped. Harry then continued, "So, yours is the only outstanding debt that is owed to me as of right now."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "So what is it? What do you want from me?"

Harry frowned as he detected the frustration and worry in her words. "Hermione, you should know me better than that, after all we have been through."

Irontooth then slid a parchment across the table to Hermione, who went to pick it up.

"Everything is explained right there," added Harry.

Hermione's eyes quickly scanned the document. Then she looked up at her best friend. "You set all of this up just to have me promise to remain your friend? That's all that is needed to release the debt?" She was nearly yelling at him now. "You made me worry about all of this for nothing?"

Harry raised a hand to try and calm her. "Hermione, it is required of magic, you know that. You've studied the nature of life debts. To formally release you from the debt I needed to have a formal declaration of a magically binding agreement in lieu of an actual event that could satisfy the requirements of the life debt."

"You prat!" she exclaimed.

"Miss Granger," interjected the goblin, "you do need to sign to parchment if your are in agreement with the terms. Then the life debt will be considered paid in full, by Lord Potter and by magic itself."

Hermione was even more frustrated. "Give me a bloody pen, or a quill!" she cried. As she signed the document, Harry stood up and walked around the table. As she finished signing she tossed the parchment back at Irontooth and then she stood up and faced Harry. Harry pulled her into a tight embrace as he whispered in her ear, "Thank you, Hermione, now we can leave this behind us." He leaned away from her after placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. "My best friend, forever," he added simply.

She looked up at the emerald eyes looking down at her as she felt her own eyes begin to water up.

"Enough of that, we're officially done here," said Harry who now turned to Flynn. "So, Flynn, how about joining my fiancée and me for a nice meal, on me of course, and I would be happy to fill you in on any details of Hermione's school adventures."

Flynn smiled hesitantly, "Well, sure, that sounds terrific."

Harry turned to Hermione, "So, where are you staying?" he asked.

"We're getting a room at…"

Harry cut off Hermione's response. "Nonsense, there is plenty of room at the Manor. We'll arrange to get your things, and then we'll head on over to my place, and have a leisurely dinner, just the four of us, and we can get caught up as we get to know Flynn." Turning to Irontooth, Harry added, "I think that concludes our business for now, my friend."

Irontooth did not respond directly as he shook his head. "Foolish humans," he muttered as he turned to leave the room.

* * *

Harry walked Hermione and Flynn to the entrance to the bank.

"Hermione, I'll have Mal, the Potter family house elf, fetch your things. In the mean time, why don't you two floo over as soon as you're ready. I'll have Daphne meet us there at six. Right now, I have to go have one more meeting with Ragnok."

After excusing himself, Harry then turned and went back into the bank, nodding to one of the tellers who silently called for one of the guards to come forward. The guard then escorted Harry to the office of Ragnok, the Chief Administrator for Gringotts London Branch.

Harry knocked on the door once and then let himself in. Ragnok looked up and smiled. "It is good to see you again Harry, I was not expecting this meeting today, but I received word from Irontooth that you had a reason to speak with me."

Harry nodded. "I have a proposal that I wished to speak with you about." Harry pulled out a thin folder and slid it across the desk to Ragnok. The goblin just stared at the folder for a moment and then he looked up at Harry.

"Before we discuss this proposal, I am curious. I presume all of your meetings have gone as planned," he said sombrely.

"That they have," replied Harry. "In fact, I am not sure that they could have gone any better. I have dealt with the life debts, I have even managed to arrange for the Ministry of Magic to be modernised, to abandon many of their discriminatory practices, but still keep some of the old traditions."

"You have done well," smiled Ragnok. "For one so young, it is most extraordinary." Then he took the folder and opened it. "Let us see what we have here," he commented as he began to read the single document.

Harry observed the goblin's facial features as he silently reviewed he proposal. A raised eyebrow, a frown, then a furrowed brow, and then Ragnok's features softened as he was obviously re-reading the proposal, and then Harry thought he could discern that the goblin was considering the ramifications of what Harry had proposed.

"No, this will not do," said Ragnok as he looked Harry in the eyes. "Why, this could lead to problems if you were to do it now. It could jeopardise the execution of the contract. While I see that your idea is sound, it has a certain merit, although many would accuse you of being foolish for doing this, but it is something that would only come from you, my young friend."

Harry frowned slightly at these words.

Ragnok noticed the young lord's reaction. "Oh, it is very doable, you just have to wait. It can be done anytime after the event takes place, then the contract is fulfilled, then it would be fine."

"Then you will hold onto that, and we can move on that proposal soon," said Harry as he reconsidered his plan, or at lest the timing of the plan.

Ragnok grinned back. "The timing is the only issue," agreed the goblin as he closed the file and placed it securely in his desk drawer.


	25. Chapter 25 weddings and titles

**AN: My apologies for the delay in getting this chapter done. Life, the universe, and everything can catch up with one every now and then. There is still at least one more chapter to go...**

**There are some references to various movies and music in this chapter, consider it a little Easter egg hunt what with the coming western holiday this weekend (Pascha is still over 6 weeks away this year for those of us who are Eastern Orthodox...)**

* * *

Harry stood out in the garden behind Potter Manor and looked across the grounds. Daphne had been watching him, sensing his pensive mood. She quietly joined him and slipped her hand into his as she tried to follow where his eyes were focused.

"Hey love," she said softly, "what are you thinking?"

Harry did not take his eyes off of the pond as they watched the sun light reflect off of the gentle waves. "Sitting down in a muggle bar over a year and a half ago, I never would have imagined I would end up here, feeling free for the first time ever." He turned and looked at Daphne, "And I never would have guessed that I would end up with you by my side." His smile matched the sparkle in his emerald eyes.

Daphne leaned her head on his shoulder as she gazed out onto the pond. "The best stupid thing I ever did was decide to find out who was hiding behind those wards you put up for privacy that night." She smiled as she remembered how they ended up together at her apartment, and how their relationship grew. Then she asked him another question. "So, why are you standing here staring at the water? You could be reminiscing anywhere around the manor or the property."

"I think I was drawn to the sparkling reflections on the waves," he answered, his words echoing his pensive mood. "There is a magical quality about the sun and the waves. The bright sparks of light and the dark depths of the water. I guess it just reminds me of magic, how it changes around us, how we can change things with it. I know I'm no philosopher, or even a poet, but there is something more meaningful I feel as I just stand here and watch the scene before me. Maybe it's just the standing here and watching. For years I feel all I have been doing is reacting to everything that comes my way. Trying to survive or make the most of what I have. Trying to save the world, or at least save myself. Hunting horcruxes or magical creatures, or being hunted by a madman out to kill me. Fighting a war or settling debts. And now, it is all done."

He turned to face his girlfriend and held both of her hands in his. Slowly he walked backwards towards the pond, not stopping even when his feet started to splash in the shallow water. "What do I have to look forward to now? Draco and Stori's wedding. Our wedding. Thinking back to everything that we have done, that I have done, I feel the need for a fresh start, a clean start." As he finished saying that he pulled Daphne close and then fell backwards into the water, carrying her with him.

Daphne screamed in surprise. As the two came up out of the water, spraying water everywhere as they shook their heads, Daphne smiled and hugged Harry tight. "Never do that again," she warned teasingly.

"What does the church say? Be renewed through baptism, through the putting away the old man, and rising up a new man?" Harry continued to speak solemnly as he held Daphne tight. "I feel the need to be cleansed from the evil and the danger and everything I have been through over the past ten years or so." He looked Daphne in her eyes as he noticed them reflecting the sunlight that was dancing on the tops of the waves behind him. "We have that chance to make a fresh start, together, to move on past everything from school, from the war."

Daphne hugged him tighter. "Then let's get married as soon as we can, and move on with our lives, together."

* * *

Evening was approaching at Greengrass Manor. The young couple had wandered out on to the back porch while dinner was being prepared. Holding a glass of wine in his hand, Draco leaned against the railing as he stared out across the back gardens and the pond in the back yard. The sky was beginning to turn a slight pink and orange on the edges as the sun was starting to set.

Astoria stood behind Draco, taking in the beauty when she noticed a certain tenseness in her fiancé's demeanour. He seemed distant and cold as he stood there, his body language indicating he wanted to be left alone.

"Dray," she began tentatively, "is something wrong?"

Draco didn't turn to face her as he responded cooly, "No, I am fine."

His lack of emotion in his words betrayed his feelings that he tried to hide. Astoria came up from behind and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

The Malfoy heir ignored her gesture, "Maybe you would be better off without me," he mumbled.

"How can you say that," demanded Astoria, "after all that we have been through, not to mention the consequences if we don't go through with this!"

"Yes, the consequences, those damned consequences," he muttered, still not looking at her. "You wouldn't be with me if it wasn't for those consequences, we would never have gotten together without that contract. And what do you get for that? The name Malfoy." Draco spat his disgust. "My father ruined that name forever with the way he carried on through both wars by supporting Voldemort and all the bribes he paid to various ministry officials. What ever fortunes my once proud family had are now gone; what ever prestige there used to be in being a Malfoy no longer exists." Draco turned to face her, and he continued in a gentle voice, "So, now my fair Astoria, you have to settle for being with an arrogant bully who got through school due to intimidation and threats. No one fears the name Malfoy anymore. No one respects the Noble House of Malfoy anymore." Draco turned his eyes to the ground, and then he continued, "All I really have to give you is the chance to hold onto your magic."

There was a long awkward pause, and then Draco finished, "You will have no money, no riches, no fame, just this poor excuse of an Auror trying to live down the reputation of his family that his father made. You deserve so much better than this."

His tone was soft and tender even if his words sounded severe. And with those words he turned away from her again.

Astoria walked up beside him and pulled his chin to face her. She caught his attention with her eyes, and then she slapped him across his face. Draco was stunned, and reached up and felt where the skin on his jaw stung from her assault.

Before he could respond, Astoria laid into him with a verbal attack. "How dare you!" she exclaimed. "How dare you belittle yourself that way! How dare you belittle me with those words. We both know the consequences of not proceeding and fulfilling the contract. We knew that going into this. Over the past year we have grown to know each other better than we ever could have imagined. You're not the obnoxious ponce you were as a student anymore. And believe me, that is being kind in describing who you once were back in school! That Draco ceased to exist. He probably died the day Harry rescued him from the Room of Requirement as the Battle of Hogwarts was beginning. The Draco standing in front of me is the Draco who I fell in love with. You're the Draco who travelled to America to save a friend who was once your bitterest rival. You're the Draco who travelled with that same friend and helped him defeat a chimera. You're the Draco who is willing to risk his own magic for the sake of the honour and protection of a young lady. You're the Draco I fell in love with and you're the Draco I will be marrying in two weeks. I didn't agree to this because of your money. I didn't agree to this because of your family's name. And I sure as hell didn't agree to this based on the charming demeanour of the Draco I knew when we were in school."

Draco tried to interrupt her, but she continued. "Do you know why I was willing to agree with this last year when you first came to my father?"

Draco shook his head, too stunned by her words to voice an intelligible response.

"You showed humility in coming to my father to discuss the contract. You didn't come out of arrogance. You didn't come demanding anything. Hell, you even met up with Harry that day, before you became friends, and you didn't try to hex him. You have grown into a wonderful and caring young man that any witch would be proud to be associated with. So what if all we have to live on is your Auror's salary? We'll make do. Because we will have each other. The Draco who took the Dark Mark as a student, he can rot in hell for all I care." She took his hands in hers and pulled him close. "But the Draco I fell in love with is the man standing right in front of me. The man who is so noble he is even trying to back out of a marriage contract, even if it might cost him his magic. That is the Draco who is standing before me."

She leaned into him, looking up into his eyes and then she kissed him gently on the cheek. "You are the Draco Malfoy who will soon be my husband, and I will be proud to be your wife."

Draco smiled at her as a single tear appeared and ran down his right cheek.

* * *

{Several days later}

Daphne answered the door as Hermione and Flynn arrived at Potter Manor. She greeted Hermione with a hug and a kiss as Flynn just smiled. He then took Daphne's hand and kissed it gently as he thanked her for inviting him to join them all for dinner.

Daphne smiled back as she responded, "It's our pleasure, Flynn. Harry's out back working on the grill for cooking dinner. You can join him out there or sit with Hermione and me in the lounge."

Flynn gave Hermione a nervous look, and she responded with a nod and a grin. "Go and join him," she said, "you might as well start getting to know my best friend."

"Okay," drawled Flynn, "although I am not sure just what we will be talking about."

Daphne rolled her eyes at this statement, "With all of your degrees and all of Harry's adventures I am sure that the two of you could find something to talk about. Unless, of course, you would rather stay here and listen to us talk about bridesmaid dresses and such."

Flynn blushed at this statement and immediately turned to leave. He took three steps away from the women and then he stopped, and turned back. "Um, excuse me, Daphne," he said trying to hide his embarrassment, "but where exactly do I go to find Harry outside at the grill?"

Daphne then quickly summoned one of the house elves who brought Flynn out back to where Harry was working.

As soon as Flynn had left, Hermione turned to Daphne, "Bridesmaid dresses?"

Daphne laughed. "It was a great way to get rid of him," she said conspiratorially, "but I did want to tell you something in private…"

Harry was working on grilling the dinner they would soon be eating when Flynn showed up.

"Hey Flynn," greeted Harry with a smile. "I am really glad that you and Hermione could make it tonight. I have been looking forward to the chance to get to know you better."

"Thanks Harry," replied Flynn. "I have heard so much about you from Hermione, I was almost afraid to meet you. What with the stories and everything that she had been telling me about you."

"A little too unbelievable, huh?" asked Harry.

"Well, no, not really," answered Flynn ignoring the mirth in Harry's question. "Well, with my having had to retrieve the Spear of Destiny, and with all of the extraordinary things we have in the Library, I am just curious to hear more details of your own personal adventures. I hear that you slew the basilisk that had petrified Hermione at one time, although I am sure that she must have exaggerated a little when she told me how big it was. After all, a basilisk that was at least 60 feet long, well, that would have to have been many centuries old, probably over a 1000 years old."

Flynn stopped laughing at his comments when he noted the serious look on Harry's face. The sternness in his visage caused Flynn to take a step back. After a moment of feeling the silent glare from Harry, Flynn finally spoke up.

"Well, Hermione did say that she never really saw the actual basilisk, well, until she saw the carcass in the chamber somewhere," he added meekly.

Harry's face turned to a puzzled look as he examined Flynn closely. "Are you trying to tell me that you actually doubted any of the stories that Hermione told you of her, or rather our experiences and adventures? You wouldn't be suggesting that she would be capable of exaggerating or fabricating the facts of a story to make it more amazing?"

Flynn just shook his head silently to indicate that he really did not mean to imply such things about Hermione.

"So, Flynn," continued Harry, "why don't you tell me a little about your adventures obtaining this Spear of Destiny. I'd love to hear about what you do."

Harry listened to Flynn recount the tale of how he had to travel the world to obtain the parts of the spear, of how he was aided by Nicole Noone as he travelled around the world and had to deal with the Serpent Brotherhood. Flynn seemed a little disappointed that Harry didn't seem to be awed by everything that he had gone through to retrieve the artefact. Harry picked up on the frustration that Flynn was feeling.

"So, it sounds like you had quite the adventure there," commented Harry.

"Well, it was more of an investigative research expedition meant to acquire a rare and valuable artefact," replied Flynn, hoping that his description would make what he did seem more important, or at least more dangerous.

Harry stopped himself from commenting that Flynn's adventure did not include seven years of an insane ultra powerful megalomaniac wizard trying to hunt him down and kill him, as he went on to say, "You know, to accomplish all of that and not have the ability to use magic, I guess in those terms it is pretty impressive. However, your big words will go a lot farther in impressing Hermione than they will most anyone else," Harry added with a smile.

Flynn shifted uneasily in front of Harry. "Well, about that," he stammered, "you seem to know Hermione better than anyone; and well, you see, she is really really smart and all that, but the problem is that I am, well how do you say it? I'm just mundane. I'm a muggle. I can't do what she does."

Harry raised an eyebrow as he deciphered what Flynn was getting at. "So, you're trying to as me if I think that Hermione would have a problem with you not being able to use magic? Will that be a deal breaker in your relationship with her?"

Flynn grinned back, "That's it, that's my concern exactly! I mean, on a purely intellectual level, I am sure that she is my equal, while she doesn't have the degrees that I have earned, but that doesn't really mean anything to me. I understand that most people don't get twenty-two academic degrees, but then most people can't turn a matchstick into a needle either, something she said she learned how to do her first year at the Porcine Verruca Academy."

"Nor can most people turn you into a newt," laughed Harry, "which I am sure Hermione could do to you. And you might eventually get better after a while if she did. But to answer your question, Flynn, let me just explain a few simple things to you about Hermione. One, she is very bright, in fact many consider her the brightest witch of our age. Two, she is very faithful, she will stick by those she cares about through thick and thin. Three, you should be well aware that she does not come from a magical background, she didn't really know about magic until she was eleven and was about to start at Hogwarts, the school we attended. So, she will not hold it against you at all that you're not magical. Four, and I mean this next bit as seriously as I can possibly be, she is very important to me and I have seen her hurt before. I don't want to see that happen to her ever again. And I will personally seek out anyone who hurts her, and I will track them down, and I will make them suffer humiliations galore when I catch up with them. And trust me on this, I will catch up with them."

Flynn grimaced, "You mean like a duel to the death sort of thing?"

Harry grinned slyly at this. "No, more of a duel to the pain, if you know what I mean."

Flynn gulped. "Yeah, I think I do. You don't happen to wear a black mask, do you?"

"No, I am not to partial to masks," answered Harry, "I never bought into the idea that they would become all the rage. And I've had my fill of people wearing masks. But, now I must pay attention to these potatoes and squash here on the grill with the steaks, before they burn."

"You're cooking potatoes and squash on the grill?" questioned Flynn.

Harry was surprised by Flynn's question. "What do you think I had wrapped up in the foil over there? It's really quite good, and it should be all ready shortly. And we best be heading inside, as the women are apparently discussing bridesmaid dresses, which means before long they will be discussing bridal dresses."

Flynn gulped as he started to panic at that thought.

"Relax," smiled Harry, "Daphne and I are already engaged, we just haven't announced a date yet, so that is probably all they are talking about right now. Give it some time and they will get around to you and Hermione. Trust me on that."

* * *

Harry sat patiently awaiting for Ragnok to finish his current task. Harry was amusing himself by reminiscing on how he had been teasing Flynn the other night at dinner, and he tried to keep his chuckles quiet so as not to disturb Ragnok. The director of Gringotts Bank in London was once again reviewing Harry's proposal. He looked at the proposal in front of him and then back up at Harry.

"Obviously, this will affect your overall assets and net worth," he said soberly.

Harry nodded in response.

"The loss of property and assets will probably not be a factor for you in the long run," added the goblin, "however it will ultimately lower your net worth. But I doubt that it would have any affect whatsoever on the prospects for Potter Family Enterprises. Your companies are all stronger now than they were two years ago. The partnership you created with Greengrass Imports has benefited both you and Lord Greengrass. So, to sum up the evaluation of your proposal, you can easily afford to go through with this plan, even if it would seem most fool hardy from a purely financial standpoint."

Harry smiled to himself. "Then we shall go ahead with carrying this out as I have explained in the cover letter. They will be receiving the appropriate documents to sign to indicate the acceptance of the deal."

Ragnok frowned at Harry's insistence to go ahead with the proposal.

Harry noted the reaction, and he tried to reassure his friend, "I will strongly urge him to continue to utilise the expert advise and the superb managerial resources I have found in working with you over the past few years. I do not expect that you will lose any business through this arrangement."

Ragnok sighed. "May your prediction be true and may your gold continue to flow," he added almost sullenly, resigning himself to accept Harry's proposal. Upon hearing Ragnok's consent to moving forward with the plan, Harry stood up and left the bank to attend to his other responsibilities prior to the upcoming wedding for Draco and Astoria.

* * *

The Daily Prophet would be publishing the story of the Malfoy-Greengrass wedding on the front page. There were scores of guests, and most of the elite members of magical society were in attendance for the event. Even Witch Weekly had reporters and photographers at the event. Draco was surprised as to how much attention was being paid to him and Astoria over their wedding. He had even discussed this with Harry the day before the wedding, as it was becoming clear that the media was building this up as the biggest event since the awarding of the Order of Merlin to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Harry and Daphne had both surmised that it was in part due to the notoriety of Draco's father, combined with the presence of Harry as Draco's best man. The wizarding world's newspapers and magazines were well known for making news out of almost anything that they chose to focus on, and a wedding was surely more appropriate than speculation on Harry's sanity as they had done all those years ago after the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

While the wedding was a high draw for the wizarding public, the wedding reception, which was being held at Potter Manor, however, was a much more intimate affair. Once the invited guests for the reception had all arrived, and people were seated in the ballroom awaiting the serving of the meal, Harry stood up holding a glass of champagne in his hand.

He cleared his throat as he gathered the attention of everyone in the room.

"Now that I have your attention, it is time for me to propose a toast. This should not take long, for those of you who know me, know how much I hate the spotlight, despite how much my friend Draco tried to claim the opposite back when we were in school!"

Most of those present laughed at Harry's words. After the brief interruption, Harry continued. "I have the honour to present to you, our friends and families, Draco and Astoria. Draco, you have become like a brother to me over the past year. May our friendship inspire others in our world to look beyond first impressions and learn to get to know each other for who you are. Astoria, you have become like a sister to me, a caring and compassionate friend. May your life together be filled with the love for each other that you have shown to friends and family."

Harry raised his glass, and everyone in the room cheered and then lifted their glasses in recognition for his words to his friends.

After a few minutes the noises and cheers began to quiet down, and people noticed that Harry was still standing holding his glass. Slowly, everyone's attention was again drawn to the best man who was hosting the reception. As the room became quiet, Harry slowly placed his glass down next to his plate.

Draco and Astoria looked up at Harry, not sure what else he would have to say.

"Now, I am sure that most of you here would not know that I have, as of yet, not given a wedding gift to Draco and Astoria. I need to make a few things clear right now. I am doing this on my own free will, and this was purely my own idea." He looked at Draco and noted the blank look of confusion on his face. "Some of you may know that Draco and I are distantly related, through his mother's family."

Harry was drawing this out slowly, and he noted that almost everyone in the room had blank looks on their faces as well.

Harry paused briefly and addressed the guests. "In case there is anyone in this room who has not heard, I have received permission from Lord Greengrass to wed his eldest daughter, and the Lady Daphne Greengrass has graciously accepted to become my wife." There were gasps and sighs and oohs and awes form around the room. "But the point of this revelation is quite simply, that as Lord Potter and Lord Black, I do not desire to have two families so as to keep two pure blood family lines separate."

The gasps grew louder. Draco's eyebrows raised in realisation to what Harry might be implying. Astoria was covering her mouth with her hand. Daphne was smiling proudly at Harry. Hermione was shocked and wiping tears from her eyes.

Harry turned and faced Draco. "Draco, my friend, my cousin, my brother, today on your wedding day, I give as a gift to you and to your bride, the title of Lord and Lady Black, of the House of Black. And with this title I give you all of the rights and responsibilities and properties that go with the title of Lord Black."

Draco mouthed the words "What have you done?" to Harry.

Harry turned back to face the guests. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, the Lord and Lady Draco and Astoria Black."

Once again the room was filled with cheering and clapping. Several of the witches present swooned from the excitement of this newest turn of events. Wizarding cameras took pictures of the event and the announcement.

Harry pulled Draco into a hug, and Draco whispered into Harry's ear, "This is too much, mate, way too much."

Astoria had jumped up and embraced Harry in a hug as well. "We'll talk about the details later," Harry replied to Draco, knowing that Astoria also had heard his comments to her new husband.

Soon the ballroom was all abuzz with conversation as everyone enjoyed the meal before the dancing would begin. Draco would occasionally look over at Harry and just shake his head in bewilderment. As the dancing had begun, and after Harry had danced with both Daphne and then Astoria, he turned around to find himself face to face with Narcissa Malfoy. Draco's mother stepped up to Harry and it was clear that she was determined to have this next dance with him. Harry swallowed hard and then smiled as he too her onto the dance floor.

"Lord Potter," she said as they spun to the waltz that was being played, "I really do not know how to ever begin to thank you for what you have done for me, for my son."

Harry began to protest her comments, and was quickly shushed by him as they continued to navigate the dace floor. "Do not misunderstand me, I always did love Lucius, despite his faults, but the actions of Draco's father ruined the Malfoy family and the Malfoy name. It ruined any real chance that Draco would have had in getting anywhere in our society. Hell, even within the Auror Department and the DMLE the _son_ of a Death Eater would only be able to go so far no matter how good he was at his job. But now, he is a Black. I feel that you have renewed my life, that once again I am back in the fold of the family that I felt had been abandoned by the reckless and foolish actions of so many young people. Now the Black Family once again has a chance to return to its noble heritage, to its noble and honourable roots."

As the waltz wound down to its final notes, Narcissa curtsied in front of Harry as she quickly whispered, "Thank you, for everything you have done for me, for my family, for all of us." Then she stood up and quickly spun around and walked away.

Several songs later, Harry was noting that his feet were sore, so he made sure to quickly make his way back to the head table and he found that Draco had also chosen this time to recover from the dancing. Draco looked up at Harry.

"You really shouldn't have done that," said Draco flatly.

Harry grinned back, "Yes, I should have; and no, it can't be undone. The paperwork from Gringotts making it official will arrive tomorrow morning. The details of the properties and possessions will be made clear at that time as well. We can talk about that tomorrow, before you leave for your honeymoon, after you have recovered from tonight's activities."

Draco shook his head in disbelief.

Harry sat down across from his friend and he continued to explain his decision. "Look, you came over to the states last year to save me, you're marrying the woman who will soon be my sister-in-law, we're both part of the Black family anyway, and you're more directly related to the line than I am. I don't need the money or the houses, I have plenty as Lord Potter. I bloody hell don't need an extra title and all of the responsibilities that come with it. Think of becoming Lord Black as doing me a favour. You may have wanted it years ago to spite me and the Black family, now you can take the title and do something with it. Make the Black family into the proud lineage it once was."

Draco nodded as he listened to Harry's reasoning. "Besides," added Harry, "your mother is thrilled to be a Black again."

Draco looked around the room and saw his mother in conversation with his mother-in-law. The look on her face showed so much joy he was surprised. The years of fear and worry seemed to be gone now. She had been subdued ever since the end of the war, ever since the death of her husband in Azkaban. Draco knew she understood the role she played that night in the Forbidden Forest when she lied to Voldemort, but her life seemed to continue with little meaning after the war ended. Whether it was that her son had grown up and was now married, or that her family's title had been passed to her son, something had changed her demeanour. Draco turned back to Harry and inclined his head slightly as he whispered a simple "Thank you."

Harry grinned and then stood up and grabbed his fiancée and headed back out to the dance floor.

* * *

It was nearing midday when Draco and Astoria had shown themselves into Harry's lounge. At the end of the reception the night before, they had port-keyed away from the reception to a round of applause and cheers from the well wishers. Only Harry and Daphne knew that the port-key merely took them to an empty wing of Potter Manor that would serve as their honeymoon suite for the night. Draco and Astoria had planned a simple honeymoon as they were intent on living off of what he made as an Auror and not rely on support from Astoria's parents.

Harry smiled at the tired young couple as he greeted them and indicated that there was paperwork for them to review on the table. The three sat down together, and Daphne went off to the kitchen to check on the brunch that the house elves were preparing, so that she could leave them to discuss the situation uninterrupted.

Harry began by pointing out the different folders to the happy couple. "First, here is the list of assets of the Black Family, the vault contents and the investments. Next, we have the list of properties and their valuations as they have recently been assessed by the goblins. And next, we have the list of businesses which are owned completely or in part by the Black Family."

Draco and Astoria started looking over the documents. Harry continued to explain a few things to them, "There is paperwork here which you will need to sign. You will then have to present yourselves to Gringotts where they will do further testing and affirmation of your right to be Lord Black, and then they will give you the keys to the vaults."

Astoria shook her head in amazement at all of this. Draco looked up from the documents and finally spoke. "Mate, you really shouldn't have, this is too much. I can't believe you are giving this away. I always thought that the Potter fortune was less than the Black fortune, how could you give that up?"

"Honestly Draco," replied Harry with a smirk, "I am not giving you the larger part of my family fortunes. The wars severely depleted the holdings of the Black family, meanwhile the Potter family investments were managed by the goblins, including diversifying into muggle businesses, and have done quite well. Ragnok assures me that this will in no way have any actual affect on my standard of living."

Draco shook his head in amazement, still barely understanding that someone could be so generous, especially towards him.

Harry then gave a suggestion as he noticed the two pouring over the document listing the properties. "I am sure that your planned week in Ibiza may sound absolutely glorious to you as a way to spend your first week of wedded bliss…"

Draco mouthed "Ibiza?" questioning Harry's comments.

Harry waved off his question with a simple explanation of a reference to a muggle rock band song from the time his parents were at Hogwarts, then he continued, "You may want to consider spending the time checking on the various properties you now own, although I would wait on going to 12 Grimmauld Place, the goblins are still working on cleaning that place up." Noticing the questioning look from Astoria he simply replied, "You don't want to know any of the details. I lived there for a while after the war, but you really don't want to move in there just yet. Its dark, very dark."

Draco nodded and spoke quietly with Astoria and then they turned to thank Harry again. Daphne called them to join her in the small dining room for brunch. As they were sitting down to eat, Harry made one more suggestion. "Take a couple of weeks to check things out. We're planning to have a small get together over at Greengrass Manor with some friends on Saturday in two weeks time, so we hope to see you there. You can let us know how you like being Lord and Lady Black and what you think of your properties."

"I'm sure we can be back in time for that," replied Astoria as she was holding Draco's hand.

Draco shifted in his seat, and then mentioned they should definitely be back in time as he had only asked for one week off for their honeymoon. He was not sure what caused the large grins to come across Harry and Daphne's faces at that. "What's so amusing?" he asked, clearly irritated that there was something he seemed to be missing.

Daphne answered for them, "We already spoke to your supervisor, and explained to him that you really would be needing two weeks off for your honeymoon. You do have the time off already."

Astoria squealed with excitement. Draco however rolled his eyes, "My partner will kill me when I get back, though, after being away that long."


	26. Chapter 26 The Potter Wedding

**AN: Thank you to everyone who is reading this story and also thanks for all of the reviews. I appreciate the encouragement, and I appreciate the constructive feedback — hopefully my grammar and spelling has been doing better. As far as story content, apparently some of the readers liked that I had Harry be noble and give his Black title to Draco. And there are some of you who think that either I am an idiot for doing that, or that I am writing harry as an idiot and he has disrespected Sirius' memory by doing this. The Draco in JKRs books was clearly someone who would have irked Sirius to ever become Lord Black. But this was JKR's world, and this story is my version of it. And in this version Draco has grown up, he has matured, he gained some moral decency. I wold think that Sirius might approve of this, if he understood ALL of Harry's reasons for this action. Who am I kidding? Of course Sirius would be fine with this, as this is my story. Enough of my monologuing — you all want the conclusion to this story. So, let's get to it then….**

**AN2: Reviewing the timing in the previous chapters, and reviewing the actual calendar from 2002, that would put Draco and Astoria's wedding on 4-13-2002. **

**Chapter 26 has been split into 2…there will be a Chapter 27, which is nearly complete. I decided to do this as it has been a few weeks since the last chapter was posted. Chapter 27 will be the conclusion of this tale.**

* * *

Saturday, April 27, 2002

Draco and Astoria spent nearly two weeks discovering some of the secrets of being Lord and Lady Black. Their honeymoon took them to the old Black Manor in Wales, then they learned of a villa outside of Rome, as well as another home in French Alps. Their two weeks did not give the enough time to explore any of the other six homes that the family owned around the world, including a small house located somewhere in the Caribbean. They had not been to Grimmauld Place, as Harry had warned them not to travel there, although its location in London would make it very easy for Draco to get to work as his office was based out of the Ministry of Magic.

It was late on Saturday morning that the newlyweds arrived at Greengrass Manor. Stepping out of the floo one after the other they walked into busy house. Harry and Daphne were passing through the parlour as the new Lord and Lady Black were brushing the soot off of their robes. Draco raised an inquisitive eyebrow at all that was going on.

Daphne responded with a simple laugh, "How quickly do you forget? We told you we were planning to have some friends over today."

Astoria was standing next to Draco now with her hand around his waist, "This looks like more than just a few friends."

Daphne greeted her sister with a hug and a kiss on her cheek, "Some guests will be arriving for lunch, some will be arriving a little later and I think most will be staying through dinner." With that she spun around and headed back to where she was going with Harry, who had barely managed to shake Draco's hand and give Astoria a hug when he was unceremoniously dragged off by Daphne.

Draco stared blankly as his friend was dragged away by his sister-in-law. "Well, that seemed a little odd," he commented dryly staring after them.

Astoria watched the scene as well and then turned to Draco. "Well, they do have a number of guests still to arrive, I would assume that she just wants Harry to help get everything in order."

As Astoria wondered if that was all that was going on, she heard a chime announcing the arrival of someone at the front door. Draco raised an eyebrow, but his wife rolled her eyes. "Not everyone is keyed into our floo, you know that. Ever since the war papa has kept the floo quite secure. I'm sure most people will be arriving the way you did for your first trip here to talk with papa about the contract, apparating to the road, and walking down the lane past the gate."

Draco nodded as he remembered that day. Then they went to see who was waiting at the door.

Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott had arrived first of the guests. Draco and Neville shook hands as Astoria and Hannah hugged warmly.

"It seems like so long ago that we were at the island in Greece," said Hannah.

"Yeah, it does," agreed Astoria.

"And now look at you two, all married and everything!" exclaimed Hannah.

Astoria leaned into Draco and gave him a slight squeeze, "So, when are you two going to make it official?"

Neville blushed slightly as Hannah held out her hand to show her engagement ring. Then he added, "My grandmother feels that a June wedding is most appropriate, and that it is best to wait until after the school year is out at any rate, so we'll have to bed our time until then."

The chime sounded before Hannah could add her own comments, and Astoria turned an opened the door and welcomed in Hermione and Flynn. Flynn seemed a little out of sorts, and Hermione quickly explained, "He's still not used to this side along apparition thing, leaves him all twisted up in side."

Flynn, who did look a little pale, just nodded in agreement. Astoria then lead the way for the group to head out to the back garden and have a seat and relax. As the small group sat around the patio, Draco stayed standing behind his wife. He remained unusually silent as the group began to converse about plans for the upcoming summer. After a short while, the chime sounded again and Astoria took Draco by the hand.

"Lets go see who is here," she said as she pulled him away from the group. On their way to the front door Astoria spoke quietly but sternly. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you today?" she demanded. "You're so uninvolved in the conversation out there that it is rude. I thought you liked Neville and Hannah."

"I have no issues with either Longbottom or Abbott, you know that, we all had a good time together last summer," Draco answered stiffly.

Astoria looked at him closely, then she spoke accusingly, "It's Hermione's boyfriend, isn't it? You don't like him because he's…"

Draco cut her off and finished her sentence, "Because he's a muggle. It's not that I don't like him, I've never really had to deal with muggles. I'm just not comfortable around muggles. What about the statue of secrecy and all that? I'm not sure what to make of it all."

"If you had been listening," countered Astoria, "you would know that Flynn learned about magic before he ever met Hermione. His job involves searching for magical objects, even if he is a muggle. Besides, Hermione is our friend, and you should be happy that she has found someone who makes her happy."

Draco nodded silently in acceptance of her comments. The door chime rang again, and they heard Daphne call down from the upstairs, "Isn't someone going to answer the door?"

Astoria called back, "We're right on it!" Then she turned to Draco, "Where did she disappear to?"

Draco raised an eyebrow as he headed toward the front door, "How should I know where _your_ sister is?"

Draco opened the front door to find a small group waiting at the door.

"I was wondering if we had the wrong house," said Seamus Finnegan.

"Or maybe the wrong day," added Dean Thomas.

"Really, boys," scolded Lavender Brown who was there with them, "you need to be more patient." Lavender stepped through the door immediately followed by Susan Bones and Luna Lovegood.

Susan merely rolled her eyes at the two former Gryffindor young men as she greeted Astoria with a kiss on her cheek and Draco with a slight handshake. Luna made an offhanded comment about nargles and the two young men as she skipped into the house and said to no one in particular, "I wonder if Harry planned to serve pudding today?"

Draco then turned to Susan and Lavender, who were waiting on Seamus and Dean to step into the foyer, and asked them if he could fetch them anything to drink.

Lavender turned to Astoria as she stated "You have him trained so well, and in such a short time. And to think he used to be an insensitive stuck up git. Good work girl!"

Susan laughed briefly at Lavender's comment as she answered for them both, "Sure, we could both use a butter beer."

Seamus and Dean echoed the sentiment, asking for the same.

Draco looked back at the two and smirked. "No one offered you two anything, but you can come with me and we can bring drinks out to everyone, Granger and her companion encyclopaedia are outback with Long…I mean Neville and Hannah."

Lavender gave Seamus a quick kiss on his cheek, "Great idea, you guys run along with Draco and we'll see you out back when you come with the drinks."

Draco raised an eyebrow at Finnegan after observing the interaction, and Seamus simply grinned and then commented, "We've been dating for several months now."

"I didn't ask," rebuffed Draco, "and I _really_ do not want any details. Not about you, not about Miss Brown. We all saw way too much of her and the Weasel being way too open, way too often, back in school."

Several minutes later Draco, Seamus and Dean had provided butter beers for everyone who had gathered out on the patio. Susan had wondered aloud where Daphne was, and as Luna was about to offer her own explanation for the absence of their hostess, Harry stepped out and greeted everyone warmly. Before Susan's question could be redirected at Harry, he had disappeared back into the house dragging Draco with him.

The door chime rang again, and shortly Astoria returned with George Weasley and Angelina Johnson. George greeted everyone cheerfully and Hermione promptly introduced them both to Flynn.

"I thought you said he was a libertarian," commented George as he shook Flynn's hand. "He doesn't look that much like Madame Pince. His nose is not pointed enough, the eyes are not piercing enough. How could he possibly ever intimidate the students in the library?"

Before Hermione could defend her boyfriend, Flynn responded. "I think you misunderstood," he sad calmly, "I don't work for a _school_ library, I work for _the_ Library." Flynn noted the blank look from George, and then he continued to try and explain. "The Metropolitan Public Library. It's in New York. It's quite famous." His comments were interrupted with short pauses but he still elicited no response from George. Finally he added, "It's more like a magical museum where we collect and store some of the rarest and most powerful items, mythical items."

George winked at him and quietly said, "You keep telling yourself that, but as long as you like books, you'll be just fine with our dear Hermione."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the teasing that George was giving to Flynn. George noted this and slid up next to her, engulfing her in a one armed hug. He leaned towards her and spoke quietly in her ear, "Hey, it's all good, I know this guy must be better for you than my git of a brother, we all know that."

Hermione looked up at George and gave him a small smile as she whispered "Thanks."

As Draco was asking Angelina if she would like anything to drink, there was a slight commotion at the fireplace as several people stepped out of the floo at once. Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped out and was immediately flanked by two Aurors. The group of young adults stared at the scene silently and then Jonathan Greengrass stepped forward to welcome him.

After shaking Lord Greengrass' hand, the minister turned to the two Aurors with a smile and spoke in his deep baritone voice, "I told you two that everything would be fine. You can choose to stay and relax or you can leave and take care of some real work."

The two red-faced Aurors nodded silently and then they both left through the floo form which they had entered. The minister turned back to his host, "My apologies, Jonathan," he said in his jovial tone, "the head of the DMLE absolutely insisted that I have an escort. I assured him that I should have nothing to fear while I am here this afternoon."

Harry came up to greet his good friend. Kingsley gave Harry a brief hug and then he pulled an envelope out of his breast pocket from inside his robes and handed it to Harry. "The Headmistress asked me to give this to you, as she could not make it herself. She is busy with her duties at Hogwarts."

Harry quickly opened the envelope and read the short note from his former head of house. He frowned slightly as he read her apology that stated that while a get together with former students sounded like such a fun idea, the sort of thing she had never had the opportunity to participate in before, but her duties this weekend would not allow her to get away from the school. She concluded her note thanking Harry for the invitation and letting him know that she felt honoured that he would invite her to a personal family gathering.

By now the group of friends who had been joined by the minister were all gathered in the back garden. Isabella and Jonathan came out and welcomed everyone to their home, encouraging everyone to be sure to enjoy themselves for the afternoon. Then they returned into the house almost as quickly as they had come to greet everyone. Neville raised an eyebrow as he watched the couple leave the small party as he wondered what might be going on.

Draco had started a conversation with the Minister for Magic when Harry joined them. Harry spoke softly as he interrupted. "Can I have a word with you, Draco, in private," he said. Then turning to the minister he added, "My apologies Kingsley, I do not mean to be rude, but I need a few minutes with Draco." Shack gave a silent nod, indicating that all was fine as Draco then followed Harry towards the pond out back.

"What's going on, Scarhead?" asked a confused Draco.

As the two approached the edge of the pond, a disillusioned gazebo shimmered and appeared in front of the two young men. "Bloody hell, what's going on?" demanded Draco as he stared at his still silent friend.

With a large smile, Harry quietly answered, "In about ten minutes I need you and Astoria to walk down here together. The gazebo will not become visible to anyone until the two of you stand in the middle. At this point, the minister will approach and join you on the gazebo."

Draco sneered at Harry. "You invited us all here for a party and it's really going to be…"

Harry cut him off. "Yes, it is. And you're going to be my best man. And I expect that once the gazebo appears everyone will head down here to see what is going on. Then I will come out of the house. And after I arrive at the gazebo with all of you, then Daphne will come out with her parents."

Draco mouthed a silent curse at Harry. "You could have given us a little warning, you green-eyed git," he sneered, and then turned his face into a friendly smile.

"You know I really do hate publicity, despite what you and Snape claimed throughout our years at Hogwarts," added Harry. "Let's head back up to the house. 5 minutes after I head into the house, you find Astoria and head to the gazebo. Shack already knows to follow you. Then the fun will begin."

Draco shook his head as they headed back to the Greengrass Manor. "Always have to do things differently Potter," he muttered, sure that Harry heard him.

Harry patted Draco on the back as he then walked into the house. Neville's eyes followed him and looked back at Draco and then over to the pond, noticing a slight glimmer. "Oh no, I knew something was definitely going on today," he muttered.

Hannah turned to Neville and asked what he was going on about. Neville spoke quietly, "Just you wait and see, my dear, just you wait and see," as a large grin swept over his face.

Hermione thought that it was odd that so many of Harry's friends had shown up, and then the Minister for Magic had arrived. She walked over to Neville and commented on the gathering to him, "Harry and Daphne seemed to have gathered most of their friends from school." Neville nodded in agreement. "And then the Minister shows up," she added.

Neville nodded, and tried to hide his smile and then he replied, "So, what's your point?" he asked trying not to sound rude, but just curious.

"I think Harry is up to something," she stated firmly.

"Harry is _always_ up to something," acknowledged Neville.

"Yes, but somethings not quite right here," she continued. "How come there are no Hogwarts' professors, when he has invited the Minister?"

Neville's jaw dropped. "What am I? A bubotuber? I've been teaching there."

Hermione gently squeezed Neville's shoulder, "That's not what I meant, and no I did not mean to insult you. I mean, where are Harry's favourite teachers? McGonagall? Hagrid? If Harry is planning something, then where are they?"

Neville raised an eyebrow briefly and then he calmly answered her questions. "I do believe that the headmistress is busy with her duties today, and Hagrid left last week to bring Grawp back to his homeland, wherever that is."

Hermione looked up at Neville wondering how he knew this information. Reading the questioning look on his face he replied, "Hey, I just reminded you, I work there. I actually do pay attention to things going on around me." With that he turned and walked over to chat with Hannah who had wondered over to visit with Susan. Neville noted that Harry had disappeared for a few minutes and he started to scan the crowd of friends, holding his butter beer and nodding along as he listened in on Hannah and Susan's conversation. His eyes caught Draco and Astoria walking together towards the glimmering area next tot he pond.

"Looks like whatever Harry has planned is about to unfold," he said quietly and then he took another sip from his bottle.

Hannah and Susan were about to asks what he was talking about but then turned to follow the direction of his gaze. They silently watched as Draco and Astoria approached the pond, and then a large white gazebo seemed to appear out of nowhere. Susan and Hannah both gasped. Neville chuckled as he quietly stated, "You have got to love magic!"

The group of friends then watched as Kingsley Shacklebolt walked over to the structure which had just appeared in front of them. The Minister for Magic then walked up and stood in the middle of the gazebo. Curiosity caused the group of friends to start to head over and check out the gazebo, and then they noted Harry walking out of the manor house, now dressed in fancy dress robes as he strode purposefully to take a position up on the gazebo. A few people made some comments about Harry's attire, and a couple of others openly asked what was happening. Then Hermione shrieked and covered her mouth with her hand. The other women present all turned and looked back at the house.

Walking in between her parents, Daphne Greengrass was wearing a flowing white wedding gown. The dress seemed to sparkle in the spring sun.

A hush fell over the group of friends as they realised the real reason for the get together today. Everyone paid rapt attention as the beautiful blonde young woman was escorted up on to the gazebo. Then the Minister for Magic began the wedding ceremony. In what was only a matter of minutes but seemed like an eternity to Harry and Daphne as they had been anticipating the moment, they found themselves in a passionate kiss that was finalising the ceremony.

Kingsley Shacklebolt then spoke loudly to the gathering of friends and family, "May I present to you, the Lord and Lady Potter!"

A receiving line was quickly established on the gazebo as the friends all came up to congratulate the couple.

Neville was grinning from ear to ear as he hugged Harry, "You know mate, I started to figure something was up today a little while ago. I wish you would have told us, Hannah and I would have brought a present for you."

"No worries mate," answered Harry with an equally large grin. "What matters is that you were here to be with us for this day."

George Weasley had a look of amazement on his face as he greeted Harry and Daphne. "Once again, you have proven to be a master prankster. Son of Prongs, I am honoured to have you as my business partner. I think mum might kill you for not inviting her to your wedding though."

Harry's smile turned to a frown at that comment. "I'm really not sure how well that would have worked, having your mum here. You know how much I love your family, but with everything from the past year." His voice trailed off as he finished the sentence.

George nodded, trying to hide his own sadness at the implied reference to his late sister. "You are probably right, my friend, but remember, I am truly happy for you."

"Such a serious sentiment from you?" questioned Harry returning to a more jovial tone.

"Don't let that word get out now, Harrikins," smiled George.

"He does have a reputation to uphold," added Angelina with a smile. She then turned to Daphne and gave her a big hug and a kiss, "Absolutely amazing," she said, "you really do look amazing."

Daphne blushed slightly, "Thanks, Angelina."

Before she could say anything more, Hermione had stepped forward and embraced Daphne in a hug. "I was wondering why you had decided to have so many of us over today."

"We're just surprised you hadn't figured it all out before," said Harry as he received his big from his best friend.

"So, Harry, all of this for a little lunch and a wedding?" she asked.

"No, the lunch was nothing," Harry answered with a grin. "The real party hasn't even started yet. More food, more drink, dancing and everything!"

As everyone finished their greetings to the newlyweds, they headed back to the house to find that a tent had already been erected, with tables for a sit down meal and a dance floor. The party lasted well into the evening as everyone had a marvellous time.

Finally as the reception was nearing the end, there was a dazzling light display that lit up the entire back gardens of the Greengrass Manor. A shadow briefly covered the light from the shining moon, and then a dragon alit in the middle of the clearing near the tent.

The gathered friends were all speechless at this sight. Harry then stood and spoke to the guests. "With the arrival of Saevus, our friend, it is now time for us to leave you all this evening. To each and every one of you, please know how much it means to Daphne and I that you were today to be with us for this wonderful occasion. Better friends and family cannot be found."

With those final words, Harry lead his wife over to Saevus, and the two slid onto his back. Saevus lifted his head and shot a tower of flames into the sky. Then he effortlessly leapt into the sky and flew off, whisking Harry and Daphne away to begin their life together.

The crowd all stared after the dragon as it flew off into the night sky.

"Leave it to Potter," drawled Draco, "to make an exit unlike any we have ever seen."

* * *

Monday, April 29, 2002

Monday morning Harry was sitting at the breakfast table at Potter Manor with his wife as he opened the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the headlines.

Daphne noted his reaction and then queried him as to the cause of the face he was making at the paper.

Handing over the Daily Prophet he stated simply, "It appears that word got out about the events of two days ago much quicker than I had expected."

Daphne took the paper and looked at the headline:

**Magical Wedding of the Century!**

**The Boy-Who-Wed**, by Rita Skeeter.

_Harry Potter marries Daphne Greengrass in secret ceremony on private estate._

Daphne then read aloud the opening section of the article:

Dear readers, I am proud to be able to share with you all the amazing news of a secret wedding that occurred just two days ago. The Boy-Who-Lived is now the Boy-Who-Wed, and Magical England's most eligible bachelor is off the market.

Rumours indicate they were accompanied by all sorts of magical creatures, that the bride arrived on a unicorn, they had a meal served to them by nymphs and satyrs, and the they flew away on a dragon.

"At least they got something right," laughed Harry.

Daphne sighed, "I see now how much you had to put up with back in school. This article is ridiculous!"

"Oh, but it is so entertaining," Harry added with a smile. "Do read me more…"

Daphne shook her head and then turned back to the paper.

"Hermione Granger, one of the original Golden Trio of Gryffindor, was obviously distraught that her one time beau from the time of the Tri-Wizard Tournament had finally completed his rejection of her, and most degrading was that The Chosen One had actually hooked up with a gold digger from the rival house of Slytherin."

Daphne screamed her frustration. "Poor Hermione, how is she going to react to this? This is so unfair!"

Harry reached out to calm his wife. "Poor Hermione? What about poor me? I didn't realise I was hooking up with a gold digger."

Daphne slapped his arm in a friendly manner as she glared at his comment. "You prat!"

"Any more juicy tidbits we missed about our wedding?" asked Harry trying to change the subject again.

"More rubbish of crazy ideas about why you had to marry me. Oh, here we go," added Daphne. "The Wedding of The Century was an amazing gala event. High ranking ministry officials did confess that they had never seen such a beautiful ceremony. One guest commented on how scared they all were when they were seemingly all about to be attacked by a savage dragon, but then the young Lord Potter tamed the beast with his wand, and rescued his terrified bride before jumping on the once savage beast and flying away together on their secret honeymoon."

"Wedding of the century?" questioned Harry. "We're only a couple of years into this century. It seems a bit premature to give such a grand description to the wedding. It's bound to change. What will they say when our children get married?"

Daphne leaned over and gave her husband a soft kiss. "When our children get married? Don't we need to work on having the children part first?" she questioned with a sparkle in her eyes.

Harry took the paper out of her hands and tossed it on the table. "I am all for that, my love," answered Harry as he then took her by the hand and led her out of the dining area and towards the stairs that lead up to their room.

* * *

Tuesday, April 30, 2002…

A young couple arrived at the gates of Greengrass Manor, and slowly pushed open the gates. The wards let them walk right up to the house. As they opened the front door to let themselves in, Isabella Greengrass was walking near the front of the house and heard the door closing gently. Investigating the cause of the noise, she quickly found herself face to face with her eldest daughter and her newest son-in-law.

"What about your honeymoon?" asked a surprised Isabella Greengrass.

"We will begin that soon, mum, and we will be travelling for at least a month. However, Harry has some important things to do before we leave, so we decided to deal with a few things locally before we leave." Daphne hugged her mother as she explained why they were still in England.

Harry and Daphne followed her mother into the dining area. As they sat down together, Isabella called for one of the house elves to fetch them some tea. "Well, I presume you have read the paper already then," she stated calmly but with a slight irritation that she could not hide from her daughter.

"Yes, we have," replied Harry, "it was quite the entertaining piece of fiction. The writer didn't seem to get much right beyond who was married and the day it happened."

Hearing a conversation was underway, the Lord Greengrass walked into the dining area, surprised to see his daughter and his newest son-in-law. "This is a pleasant surprise," he said as he walked up and shook Harry's hand before turning to hug Daphne. "I heard voices down here and I was curious as to what was going on. So, did the newlyweds get bored already?"

Daphne blushed and Harry laughed in response. "No, not bored at all," answered Harry with a grin. "Actually, as Daphne was saying when we arrived, there are a few things we need to take care of before we leave, so we decided we would spend part of the time visiting with you, Mum and Dad, before we depart for places unknown for the next month."

A tear came to Isabella's eye at hearing Harry call her Mum. She looked over at her husband who seemed surprised but pleased to hear Harry use those terms for him and his wife.

Harry noted the reaction and quickly offered an explanation. "I never really had anyone to call Mum or Dad," he began, "my parents died before I could remember anything about them. I have been able to see them in pensive memories, as well in a variety of unusual circumstances, such as coming out of Riddle's wand during the duel at the graveyard when he was resurrected, and on my way to face Riddle in the Forbidden Forest. So while I have learned about my parents, I still haven't had a mother or father. Mrs. Weasley thought she could be my mother, in her own bizarre way, but the support I have found in you two, the love and care I have seen you have given to your two daughters, it would make me proud to be able to call you Mum and Dad."

Isabella silently got up out of her chair and engulfed Harry in a hug. Wiping a tear from her eye she added, "I know I feel honoured that you would choose to call me Mum."

Jonathan stood by his wife's side as he too commented to Harry about his explanation for his use of the titles Mum and Dad. "You have been a trusting business partner, and honest young man, and noble in your actions towards our daughter. You have done so much for our family, I know I am honoured to call you son." Trying to forestall and further emotional outbursts, Jonathan reached our and shook Harry's hand and then he pulled him into a brief but tight hug.

After a moment of awkward silence, Jonathan spoke up again. "Well, I suppose this is not just a simple social call."

Harry nodded solemnly. "Actually, I do have some rather important business to discuss with you this morning…"

* * *

Wednesday, May 1, 2002

Ministry of Magic

It was early in the morning when Jonathan Greengrass was accompanying his son-in-law into the ministry building. As they passed through security the reaction was one of surprise by many to see the "Boy-Who-Lived" entering. His well tailored robes that clearly showed his house crest were not the give away, but the tell tale mop of unruly black hair and emerald green eyes separated by the legendary lightning bolt scar. It was always the scar that drew the unwanted attention to the young man, ever since he was eleven years old and first was introduced to the world of witches and wizards and entered the Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid. The staring still made Harry uncomfortable.

"Do you have a meeting today?" asked the man at the security desk.

Harry fidgeted on his feet, as he still felt uncomfortable every time he entered the Ministry of Magic. Too many unpleasant memories for him, be it his trial before his 5th year for underage use of magic, be it the end of his 5th year with the battle at the Department of Mysteries culminating with facing Riddle here in the main lobby, or during what would have been his 7th year when they used polyjuice potion to sneak in and recover the locket from Umbridge. Harry thought that he had not had any pleasant memories associated with coming to the Ministry of Magic.

Jonathan Greengrass answered with a stern rebuke, "I was not aware that the Ministry of Magic was now requiring all visitors to have an appointment." He paused as the wizard's jaw dropped slightly as he prepared a rebuttal, but Lord Greengrass did not give him the opportunity to respond. "Besides, as lords and seated members of the Wizengamot, I did not think we needed to give anyone an explanation for our coming to the ministry, least of all you."

The man quickly checked their wands and muttered silently to himself. As Harry and Jonathan were leaving the area, Jonathan turned back and quietly intoned, "Have a pleasant day," to the very flustered guard.

Jonathan then led Harry up to the office for the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. As they walked into the waiting area, they were not surprised to see Daniel Mackenzie, Harry's solicitor waiting for them. The wizard lawyer quickly stood and greeted both Harry and Jonathan, and then they approached the desk for the secretary for the Chief Warlock. Before either Harry or Jonathan could say anything, the young witch quickly stated "I already explained to the solicitor that the Chief Warlock is not available and there is no way that you will be able to meet with him today." Her tone was cold. Then she looked up and noticed that one of the three men standing in front of her was Harry Potter. Her expression changed from terse to flirty as she blushed at recognising the hero of magical Britain.

Jonathan's voice drew her attention away from staring at Harry's scar. "I do believe that if you would just listen to what we have to say you would realise that we do not need the Chief Warlock. We merely need to register with his office formal proxies for any votes in the Wizengamot that may come up."

The woman slid her chair back slightly away from the intimidating glare of Lord Greengrass. "Oh," was all she managed to squeak out.

"My friend, Mr. Mackenzie, has all of the appropriate forms, completed and duly notarised," he continued as the solicitor removed several sheets of parchment from his briefcase.

The secretary promptly took the forms and started to look through them. After a minute she looked up at the men in front of her. "I will see that Mr. Diggory receives these as soon as possible," she stated, trying to regain her composure.

"I expect to receive notification from the Chief Warlock within two days' time that this request has been received and accepted," replied Lord Greengrass in a slightly friendlier tone.

The young woman scanned the forms once more and then replied, "Well, everything seems to be in order. Lord Potter has designated Lord Greengrass as his proxy in all matters before the Wizengamot when he cannot attend in person, his second proxy would be Lord Longbottom. The proxy for Lord Greengrass will be established first as Lord Potter, and second as Lord Black. Lord Black is requesting proxies of Lord Potter followed by Lord Greengrass if he is not available."

Jonathan smiled at the young witch. "Now, that wasn't too hard, now was it? Have a nice day miss."

With that, the three men left the office and went to have lunch together at a muggle pub down the street.

* * *

**As stated above...there will be one more chapter which will conclude this story...**

**Thanks to everyone for reading.**

**Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing.**

**-Xavras  
**

**AN: thanks to Reyana00 for pointing out the erros in the orginal version of this chapter that have now been corrected**


	27. Chapter 27 Time to Move On

**AN: In light of the events of the past week (the Boston Marathon bombings and the ensuing activities) it seems almost inappropriate to be writing/publishing a work of fan-fiction, until one considers that such a diversion from the horrors and harsh realities of the events may be what some need right now. For all of those affected by the events, be it personally, or be it loved ones, or friends, or acquaintances or just because we care for those who suffered throughout the events of the week, I will continue to pray for you all.**

* * *

Time to move on….

* * *

Saturday, May 4, 2002

Harry and Daphne had spent a couple of days visiting with her family before leaving for their extended honeymoon. The opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves without the stress of chasing down exotic and dangerous creatures or planning a surprise wedding was one that neither of the newlyweds wanted to pass up. They had already met with the goblins at Gringotts and had been reviewing Harry's various holdings around the world, and they were preparing to travel for two months or more to see various sights and check out his various homes. However, before leaving they knew they would need to pay a visit to Hogwarts, to see the headmistress who was a favourite teacher for both of them.

Saturday morning was a warm day. The weather was gorgeous and most of the students were enjoying a day at Hogsmeade. Harry was grateful for that as he really did not want to deal with making a scene by showing up at the school and being spotted by the ever present fangirls and groupies he had attracted throughout his life. They had already received permission to floo directly into her office and so at ten that morning they stepped out to greet the headmistress. Or more accurately, Daphne stepped out gracefully and Harry fell forward, catching himself from falling on his face by grabbing onto a nearby armchair.

"Always finding some way to make a grand entrance, aren't we Mr. Potter," commented Minerva McGonagall, her expression as severe as ever.

Harry stood up and gave her a questioning look, which quickly dissolved into a smile. "Always coming out fine in the end, no matter if I make the process seem a little dramatic on the way is more like it, professor."

Her own visage softened to a smile as she stepped out from behind her desk. "Drop the formalities, Harry. Call me Minerva, or Minnie. And it is so good to be able to visit with you," she said as she hugged him, and then turned to his wife, "and with you also Daphne." She stepped away from Harry and embraced Daphne with a hug as well. "My sincerest apologies for missing the festivities last weekend, I had no idea just how important your get together was going to be. I hear from my assistant herbology professor that it was a magnificent occasion, and the bride of course looked fabulous."

Stepping back she indicated with her hand to a love seat across from the arm chair Harry had used to stop his fall, "Please, take a seat, and do tell me all about your adventures of the past year. Lord Longbottom has been telling fanciful stories about your trip last summer, and the students only partially believe him because he was with the 'Boy-Who-Lived.' I would think that the word of a teacher at this school should be sufficient evidence enough for the veracity of any tale."

Harry and Daphne laughed at her comments, and then they proceeded to fill her in on the details of their travels since Harry started to work on freeing himself from his obligations to the goblins. Upon completing the tale with the story of the dragon who was working as a guard for Gringotts Bank coming to their reception to fly them away, Minerva let out a long sigh. "Always one for dramatics, Harry. Ever since your first year. Facing down a troll in the fall and then facing down Professor Quirrel and the Dark Lord all by yourself. What am I going to do when your children come to school here?"

Daphne turned her eyes away from the headmistress and looked at the interesting patterns in the hard wood floor. Harry looked briefly at his wife and then he looked back at his former head of house. "I am not sure if our children will ever attend here," he added apologetically. "My life here was grand in so many ways, learning about magic, getting away from my relatives who never really wanted me, and meeting some very special people." Harry paused as he let his words sink in for a moment. "But as you pointed out, even in my first year here things were quite extraordinary. I spent way too much time under Madame Pomfrey's care. Students should not be facing trolls or dark wizards. They shouldn't be fighting basilisks for their lives, or be chased down by a hundred dementors. They definitely should never be allowed to participate in a deadly tournament against their will, or suffer torture at the hands of a professor. My experience here may have been a little unique, but it makes me pause before I willingly send my children here for school in the future."

A tear was forming in the former transfiguration professor's eye as she listened to Harry recount the major events from his first five years at school. "Did we all fail you so horribly, Harry?" she asked, hoping that the answer would not be a simple yes.

Harry smiled back at her, "Failed me? No, but I think I could have benefited from a little more support from the faculty. But then again, look where we are now. I'm married to the most beautiful and intelligent witch to come through this school, I am now a lord, and I am not aware of any dark lords presently out to end my life and take over the magical world. I have so much to be thankful for. And we have so much to look forward to together, Daphne and I, as we start our life together without any threats against us or debts owed to others."

"Well, Mr. Potter, I'm sorry, Harry," Minerva replied with a touch of sadness in her voice, "perhaps when the time comes we can reassure both you and Daphne of the benefits and advantages for your children to receive their formal magical education at the same school where their parents and grandparents attended."

Daphne interrupted the pleasantries, "Professor, Minerva, please understand that we have only the highest respect for you, and the current staff, but we will gladly come back to look at where Hogwarts is from an academic standpoint when the time comes for any of our future children to be enrolling in school. Besides, it will not be easy on any of them being the son or daughter of the 'man-who-conquered' and attending the same school where Harry went. That is still many years away."

"How right you are Daphne," Minerva replied with a smile returning to her face. "Would you two like to join me, and the rest of the faculty, for lunch in the Great Hall? It would be an honour to have you with us today."

Harry and Daphne readily agreed, and soon found themselves sitting at the table with the faculty at the head of hall. Neville greeted his friends warmly with a big hug. Professor Flitwick stood up to greet them as well. There were few students present for lunch as most of them were enjoying the warm weather and the time to explore the nearby village.

As the conversations were finishing with the end of the meal, a commotion began at the far end of the faculty table. Sybil Trelawney's head had flopped to one side, and her eyes rolled back. She appeared to be having some sort of fit as she began to speak incoherently. Her eyes then gazed blankly straight ahead as she began to speak. Several faculty remembered that she had given two prophesies in the past and people feared what she might have to say at this time.

Harry stood up quickly and cast a silencing charm at the afflicted professor who's first prophesy had affected his life from before he was even born. The seer spoke for over about two minutes, her eyes rolling and her hands flailing, and then finally she collapsed into silence.

Professor Slughorn looked at his dazed colleague and then turned to his former student. "Harry, my boy, why ever would you do that? Now no one will ever no what was in that prophesy she just told!"

Harry was unapologetic. "Too much of my life was predicated on a single prophesy that could have been interpreted in many different ways. As a result of a single prophesy, I grew up as an orphan, and ended up having to face the most dangerous dark lord in a generation. From the age of one, until I was nearly 18 I had to face him on six separate occasions. I don't ever want to hear any prophesy again. I don't want my family living with the fear of a prophesy hanging over their heads. I'd rather no one knows of a prophesy than to have to live their life feeling that they have no control over anything."

Neville stood up and started clapping his thanks to Harry for preventing any prophecy from being made that day. Soon, several others in the room joined him, and then Daphne stood up and gave him a gentle hug.

Harry and Daphne were making their preparations to leave after concluding their visit to Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall pulled the young couple aside for one last chat.

"Thank you, Harry, but I really did not want to have to deal with another one of her prophecies," she said as she took them into the side room, the same room that Harry first visited the night his name was called out from the Goblet of Fire.

Harry and Daphne sat down for a final talk with the headmistress.

"May I ask where you will be heading first," she asked.

"Well, I do have several homes throughout Europe," replied Harry, "and there are some other properties in various places around the world."

"I'm looking forward to checking out the beach house in the Bahamas," added Daphne with a smile.

"I understand that you have been living at Potter Manor," continued Minerva, "but have you been to Pottermore yet?" she asked.

"Well, I have heard of it," he answered, "it is one of the ancient homes of my family. Apparently it is an old castle, and unplottable. The goblins have assured me that it is hospitable, and quite comfortable. Apparently there is some strong family magic that has been keeping it in pristine condition. We were thinking of eventually heading there when we finish our trip. Why do you ask?"

Minerva frowned for a moment before answering. "Your father had mentioned it once in speaking with your mother. They considered going there to hide from Voldemort, but Albus, as you know, persuaded them to stay at Godric's Hollow under the fidelious charm. I recall him saying that it had been many generations since anyone had been there, and how he was looking forward to going there. However, only the Lord Potter can find it, from what I recall your father saying. I've always wondered what he would have found there. To satisfy the curiosity of an old woman, perhaps you could come by and tell me what you find after you have visited the sight."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," agreed Harry. Then he and Daphne gave her a final hug before heading out of the castle and leisurely walking to the gates to get beyond the wards and then apparate back home. As they were nearing the gates, Neville Longbottom came running up from behind them, calling out to Harry and Daphne. The two stopped to let their friend catch up to them.

"Hey Nev, what's up?" asked Harry as his friend arrived out of breath.

Neville panted briefly as he tried to slow down his breathing, and then he began to tell Harry why he had run after him. "I know you two said you will be leaving soon on your honeymoon, and by the way, the wedding was an amazing surprise and the reception was fantastic and your exit was just brilliant."

"You ran after us just to tell us that?" wondered Daphne aloud.

"Well, that, and I hadn't had a chance to talk to Harry since your sister's wedding to Draco," replied Neville who was now more rested. He then turned to Harry, "I was meaning to ask you, what was up with your just giving away one of your titles like that. That was completely unexpected, and almost unheard of."

Harry raised an eyebrow as he studied Neville's face. "First, why don't we have a seat at the Three Broomsticks, enjoy a butter beer, and I'll tell you there."

Daphne looked surprised at Harry's comments. "Harry, we've been avoiding the students pretty well so far today. Maybe the Three Broomsticks is not the best idea right now."

"You've got a good point, my love," agreed Harry. "The Hogs Head Inn would be much less crowded, and we can get there easily from here." The trio walked slowly to the inn, which allowed Neville to manage to catch his breath. Harry remembered thought back to the last time he was in the Hogs Head, meeting up with Neville and sneaking into the castle to prepare for the Battle of Hogwarts. When they grabbed a table, Harry quickly cast a silent privacy charm, as he really had no desire for anyone in that establishment to overhear anything he talked about.

Harry then began to explain, "After I met with the goblins and discussed the issues with them I had an idea that it might be a big deal. But the way I saw it, I didn't really have much of a choice."

"But couldn't you have just separated the titles between your sons," asked Neville, "that is assuming you and Daphne were to have at least two sons."

Daphne stepped closer to Harry and gently hugged him with one arm as Harry seemed to become a little emotional as he was preparing to answer his friend. "You are the Lord Longbottom, so you are familiar with some of the familial rules. One thing I learned from the goblins had to do with multiple family lines. My first son is to be the heir to Potter line and title. My first daughter, or my second son, would be the heir to the family title for the line Greengrass. If I did not have a third son, or third child, then the Ministry of Magic could lay claim to the title and the family fortune as a family that has died out. The Ministry had used an archaic law to confiscate anything that remained in the Malfoy family line, and Draco's father had destroyed what ever good reputation the family had left. Draco is actually closer to the line of Lord Black than I am, although my grandmother was a Black. After reviewing the family lines and fortunes with the goblins, my biggest concern was that the Ministry not be able to confiscate either the Black or the Greengrass fortunes at some time in the future."

Neville shifted on his feet, worrying that he maybe shouldn't have brought this issue up with his friend.

Harry noticed his friend's discomfort. Then he continued with his explanation. "If you're wondering why I chose Draco to receive the title and the fortune, it was also in part to repay a debt. There was a potential life debt that I owed to him after he came to America after my run in with the thunderbird last year. The giving of the title and the fortune satisfied any potential debt. What is more important is that my former nemesis did come over and help me. While he did not actually put himself at risk, which is why the goblins explained that it was only a potential life debt, he did help me out. And then you and he both came with me to Greece last summer. Taking on the chimera was something I will always feel indebted to not only the both of you, but to the ladies as well."

Neville nodded his understanding. Then Harry continued with his explanation, "And the Black fortune? That was really not that much compared to what I have from the Potter family. Add to that what the Potter Estate Holdings has managed to do under the current investment strategy, my family will probably never notice the loss of the Black family funds. In the long run, it's simpler for me. It still keeps it all in the family. Draco is my cousin by blood. My friend and my brother through what we have gone through together. And he is my brother-in-law. The money counters in the ministry are angry that they don't have a legitimate claim to steal the Black family fortune, which makes it even the more worthwhile."

Neville was clearly considering what Harry had been telling him about the situation, then he finally acknowledged that Harry seemed to have made some difficult but wise choices. As they were finishing their butter beers, Harry looked closely at Neville and then he began to speak to him more directly about his own suspicions about Neville's reasons for questioning him. "You know Neville, I am quite sure that asking me why I gave Draco the Black Lordship was not really that important to you. So now that we've already covered that topic, why don't you just come out and tell me the real reason why you tracked me down as I was about to leave."

Neville gulped.

Daphne smiled at her husband as she realised that sometimes he was pretty good at reading people's motives, and he really did have some Slytherin cunning inside him after all.

Neville looked at the bottom of his empty bottle of butter beer as though he was trying to will there to be more of the delicious libation to consume. The bottle stubbornly remained empty. So Neville took a deep breath and looked up at Harry.

"Well, I knew you were going to be heading away for a while, I just wanted to make sure that you would be back by mid July." Neville then looked away from Harry and back at the empty bottle.

Daphne smiled broadly at Harry, who in turn was initially confused and then a look of understanding crossed his eyes. "Well, I'm not sure, Nev, I suppose I can be around. Well, if there's an important reason to return by then. I'm not sure how long we'll need to check out all of my properties."

"Well," stammered Neville as he once again tried to gain the courage to speak to Harry, "I was just hoping that you would be my best man."

Harry beamed with pride in being asked. "Of course I would," exclaimed Harry. "I'd be honoured to be your best man. A Potter will always stand by a Longbottom. Just one question," Harry continued with a sly grin. "Who is the lucky witch?"

Neville's face froze in shock. "What? Who else would it be? Hannah of course!"

Harry and Daphne burst out laughing. "Of course we knew it was Hannah! Congratulations Neville!"

Daphne leaned over and gave Neville a hug. "That's just wonderful news," she added. "Reassure Hannah that we will be there, no matter what. If you have the specific date, we'll make all of our plans accordingly. We would never miss this event!"

Neville smiled slightly and then he added, "Well, just so you don't worry, there will definitely not be any dragons at the reception."

* * *

Sunday, May 5, 2002

When Harry and Daphne awoke, the sun was shining and it was already mid morning. They were feeling rested after a sound night's sleep after another evening of expanding their personal relationship as newlyweds. The house elf, Mal, appeared in their room, bringing them breakfast in bed as soon as it was clear that they were awake.

"Any special plans for today, Lord Harry?" asked the house elf.

"We'll be starting our honeymoon today, travelling to various Potter properties," answered Harry. "We'll probably be gone for a couple of months before we return," he added.

"Very good, milord," replied the elf. "Will you need anything in particular for your trip? Which property will you be travelling to first?"

Harry looked at Daphne and silently confirmed their plan for the day, and then he turned back to the ever attentive house elf. "Our first stop will be Pottermore."

Mal's already large eyes seemed to grow in size and his large floppy ears stiffened and stuck out straight to either side at hearing the name of the castle. "Lord Harry, no Potters have returned there in half a millennia or more. There has been ancient magic on the place from what the goblins and elves have whispered in tales over the years."

Harry was surprised that his house elf had any knowledge of the ancient family castle. "You know of this place?" he asked.

"Only rumours, and no one has spoken of it since the time when Lord James spoke with Lady Lily about there going there before you were born. When your father mentioned it I made an effort to learn what I could about Pottermore, but then shortly after that your parents went to the home in Godric's Hollow." The elf's voice faltered at the end of his statement.

"Well, Daphne and I will be heading there shortly, and then we will plan to head to some of the other Potter properties in Europe. We'll be looking into reestablishing floo connections between all of the properties soon," added Harry.

A short while later, the young couple had gathered a number of items together as well as clothes for travelling and placed them in a travelling trunk which Harry shrunk and placed in a pocket in his robes. Holding Daphne's hand in his left, he then pressed his right thumb onto the stone of his Potter family ring and called out the name "Pottermore." The familiar tug inside their navel was felt as the port-key was activated, bringing them to the ancient and unplottable estate.

Harry and Daphne landed together in a clearing on the side of a gentle hill. As it was early May the fields were fresh with green grass growing and a few wild flowers in the fields. Looking up the hill they were awed by the appearance of a large castle, with stone battlements all covered in ivy. They continued to hold hands together as they slowly approached the edifice. There was a strong sensation of ambient magic, even more pronounced than what they had ever felt in the castle at Hogwarts.

Silently they looked at each other and then at the edifice in front of them, and together they started to walk towards the ivy covered walls. Arriving at the massive gates they briefly wondered how they would open them to be able to enter into the castle itself. Inspecting the gate, they noted there was a coat of arms painted on them. The colours were bright and seemed to have faded only slightly despite the age of the castle. Harry's curiosity caused him to reach out and gently touch the shield of blue with three gold crowns that made up the coat of arms that decorated the castle gate. Harry was startled as he felt a slight shock, similar to a jolt of static electricity, and then the gate started to slowly open inwards. The young couple continued to watch silently in awe as the entrance opened in front of them.

A large courtyard area was now opened to them. In the centre of this area was a large but nondescript rock. Looking around they saw there were empty stables and other buildings lining the area within the castle walls. Several hundred meters away from where they stood was the castle itself. Harry and Daphne walked across the courtyard towards the castle. Even though it was clearly abandoned, the entire place seemed as if it had housed people as recently as within the past month. Allowing her thoughts to be spoken out loud, Daphne commented about her observations, "It must be quite the preservation charm enchanting this place with how pristine it all seems. Who could have cast such a powerful spell?"

Harry wondered silently just who indeed could have done such powerful magic, and he only had one answer that crossed his mind. The gate to the castle itself again had the same coat of arms of the blue shield with three gold crowns.

"Might as well try it again," offered Daphne as they reached the door. Harry nodded in agreement and once again reached out and touched the coat of arms. The electrical shock occurred again. Harry shook his hand to help it feel better as the door in front of him slowly opened.

As they stepped into the hall, torches around the room lit up. A soft glow filled the room, which was quite large. In the centre of the room was a large round table. Around the table were situated thirteen ornate chairs.

Harry turned to look at his wife, who slid next to him and hugged him with her right arm. "Is this place what you think it is?" he asked, the shock evident in his voice.

Daphne did not take her eyes off of the scene in front of her. "Are saying that the stories of King Arthur and the Round Table are told to muggle and magical children?"

Harry simply stated, "So it would seem. Is that _really_ the round table? This is getting a little unbelievable."

Daphne laughed at him as she spun around to face him. "Unbelievable you say? You're the one who spoke with Merlin after using a ritual on a book. You're the one who has defeated a griffon, plucked a tail feather from a thunderbird, obtained venom from a living chimera, and then tamed a dragon. And now you actually tell me that your being the heir to Kind Arthur, or at least owning the fabled Camelot is unbelievable?"

Harry alternatively looked from his wife to the large round table in front of him. Then taking her by the hand, "If you'll be my Guinevere then I can be your Arthur. What say you to exploring Camelot?"

"I'm not sure I want either one of us to play those parts," replied Daphne as she followed Harry who began to walk around the hall. "I think we have had enough of wars already and I have no plans of looking for Lancelot."

"You may be right, the analogy may have quite a few holes in it," said Harry as he headed for the door opposite the one they had entered.

Soon they had explored much of the building and found the king's quarters as well as rooms for the queen, family, guests, and servants. They were more than a little relieved to find that all of the rooms were empty. After a couple of hours of roaming the halls of the castle they returned to the main hall and then they went out to explore some of the grounds. Harry and Daphne followed a path that led down a short hill away from the castle and they took a walk around a nearby lake. As they were enjoying the early afternoon sun, they noticed a slight disturbance in the water not far from them.

Slowly, a woman dressed in a white gown arose from the lake, and as she did it was clear that she held a large sword in front of her. Daphne covered her mouth in dismay at the sight in front of them. Harry relaxed his right arm, readying himself to draw out his wand if necessary. The woman, who had flowing long blonde hair spoke to them. "You are Harry, son of James, are you not? You are the heir who has come home to this place."

Harry stared for a moment and then stuttered in reply, "Yes, yes, I am Harry. Harry Potter, son of James Potter." He paused as he tried to figure out what to say next. "Erm, and who are you?"

"I am Nimue," she said simply as if that would explain everything. After a moment of silence she then lifted the sword and presented it to Harry. "As you are the heir, then I must present to you your sword."

Harry relaxed his hand as he reached out to take hold of the large sword. He quickly grasped the hilt with both hands as he felt the weight of the magnificent sword in his hands. He turned to show the sword to Daphne who was still speechless due to what she was witnessing. Harry then went to face Nimue once again, but she was gone.

Daphne finally exclaimed, "Tell me that did not just happen! I thought the Lady of the Lake was merely a legend!"

Harry looked at the sword in his hands. He examined the sword which appeared to have the two chimeras making the golden hilt. Slowly he unsheathed the sword and the blade seemed to almost glow, as though it was a flame coming forth from the mouths of the two chimeras. Engraved at the base of the blade, just above the hilt, was name. **Caledfwlch.**

"Now what am I to do with this?" asked Harry. He slid the sword back into the sheath and then he and Daphne slowly started to head back to the castle.

As they arrived in the courtyard, Daphne asked her husband, "So, what do you plan to do with the sword? Are you taking it with you?"

"I'm not sure," answered Harry as he considered his options. "My vaults at Gringotts would be safe, but I'm not sure that I would want anyone seeing it and it would be kid of awkward to bring it into the bank."

"What if you disillusioned it?" asked his wife.

Harry shook his head, "I don't think that it would go ever well, brining a sword that is disillusioned into the bank, even if I am on good terms with them."

"You have a point," agreed Daphne. "Just keep it at the manor?" she asked next.

"Possibly," considered Harry. He then looked around the courtyard and suddenly he had an idea. Once again he removed the sword from its sheath and then he approached the large rock in the middle of the courtyard. Lifting the sword up with both hands by the hilt, he plunged it into the rock. The sword slid smoothly into the rock, hardly making a sound.

Daphne walked up to the stone and was amazed. "So is it stuck there?" she wondered.

"Let's find out," Harry said, "go ahead and pull it back out."

Daphne quickly grasped the hilt and pulled hard, only to strain the muscles in her arms as the sword would not budge.

Harry stepped up to the sword and with one hand he easily pulled the sword out of the stone, and then he slid it back into place. Staring at what he had just done, he then picked up the sheath once again and entered the great hall. Once inside he placed the sheath in the middle of the round table. Turning around his wife was facing him, and Harry could tell she was worried.

"You're just going to leave the sword there? In the rock?" she queried.

"Daphne, my love," said Harry as he took her hands in his, "we were married just one week ago, we have yet to truly begin our honeymoon. No one else come find Pottermore, or I guess Camelot. We had a plan. We will go visit my other properties. We will travel together. Then, when we are done, we can speak with Merlin again at Pembroke. We can decide what to do with the sword then."

Daphne pulled her husband into a hug.

"Let's just head back to the manor tonight," added Harry. "We'll have the elves make us a nice dinner, we can relax together, and then leave tomorrow to investigate the other properties."

* * *

Mid July, 2002

Harry and Daphne had spent the next several months travelling and relaxing. They had been to his family's properties in France and Switzerland. Then they travelled to the United States where his family had a home in California and a penthouse in New York City. Eventually they ended up spending some time in the home which his family owned in the Bahamas.

As the heat of being in the Caribbean in July became stronger than either one of them wanted to put up with they decided to return to the villa on the island off of Greece where they had spent the previous summer. The house elves were happy to serve the newlywed couple who made sure to enjoy the peace and tranquility of where they were even more than their last stay as they were not worried about planning any spectacular attack on a dangerous and magical creature.

Harry was enjoying his breakfast as he looked out over the azure sea that surrounded their island paradise. Daphne was sitting beside him and had been looking through the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. Harry laughed slightly as he realised what his wife was reading. "I haven't even considered looking at one of those in ages," he said simply.

Daphne looked at him and showed him the headline. "Well, we may not be missing the magical world much, but they seem to all want to know where you are."

Harry glanced at the headline and then he picked up the paper and began to read.

"**Boy-Who-Lived is now Man-Who-Is-Missing" **by Rita Skeeter

_Gentle readers, it has been months since the Lord Potter, the Vanquisher of Voldemort, last made a public appearance of any kind in our peaceful lands. The last we heard of him was the story of his surprise wedding with the fairytale like ending and then the newlyweds seemed to just disappear. The Ministry of Magic confirms that the Lord Potter has arranged for proxies for his seats on the Wizengamot, but they had no further information on the whereabouts of the young lord._

_Attempts to communicate with the modern day hero have gone unanswered. Owls sent to him have returned to the senders with abject confusion. Lords Greengrass and Longbottom, who are both designated as possible proxies for all business in front of the Wizengamot, have declined to comment on his possible activities. When asked if it were possible that the Lord Potter might have been kidnapped or if he might be being held prisoner against his will, the Lord Longbottom merely scoffed in reply._

_"You think someone could possibly arrange to kidnap or hold Harry prisoner? Harry's the one who defeated that wanker Tom Riddle. If Voldemort couldn't defeat Harry, then who could?" The assistant professor of herbology at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had no further comments about his close friend._

_Miss Hermione Granger, busily working for the Library of Alexandria, had no comments for this paper when we tried to contact her. The third member of the fabled "Golden Trio", Ronald Weasley, the current assistant manager for the Chudley Cannon's practice squad had little to offer. "All I know is that Lord Potter pretty much wants everyone to leave him alone. If a wizard as powerful as he is wants to be left alone, I would think that anyone would want to do just that." And with that sentiment the former best mate of the saviour of the magical world did just that and refused to answer any more questions._

Harry tossed the paper down, not noticing the article that the paper flipped open to reveal: "New form of magical entertainment: duels combing magic and muggle style fighting."

Harry sighed as he contemplated the article. "So, do we let anyone other than family and friends know anything more about where we are and what we're doing?"

Daphne considered her husband's question for a minute before answering. "We've been through this before, and neither one of us really sees any reason to do that. Let them all wonder and come up with their own theories. Dad and Neville, and even Draco for that matter have been keeping us up to date on what's happening at the Wizengamot. They're working on the reforms you demanded of them. You're not getting bored out here with me are you?" she asked with a smirk.

Harry leaned over and gave his wife a passionate kiss. "I could never get bored with spending time with you, my love."

"Good answer, Potter," she replied demurely.

Noticing that her husband still seemed a little on edge, she asked, "So what gives then? You seem a bit preoccupied with something."

Harry let out a long breath and then he stated, "It's the sword, I keep thinking about that sword."

"What about that sword?" asks Daphne

"I placed it in the stone in the middle of the courtyard at Pottermore, you were there," he said simply.

"Yes, I know that, but what are you going to do about it? Are you just going to leave it there?" she asked, wondering where he was going with this.

"What should I do with it? Excuse me your majesty, but I know you have been Queen of England for the past 50 years, but I happen to have this sword, you might have heard about it. So, would you mind terribly if you and your son and your grandsons and everyone else in the royal family just moved out and let me take over," said Harry wistfully.

"Well, when you make it sound like some watery tart lobbed a scimitar at you as a means of establishing a system of government, I guess it would seem quite preposterous to do anything with the sword at this time," Daphne added with a hint of seriousness in her voice.

"Well, as we are the only two who know about the sword, and I apparently am the only one who can remove it from its present location, then I guess there is nothing more to do with it at this time," added Harry thoughtfully.

"In that case, milord, why don't we just go spend some more of this wonderful alone time together, down at our beach," she added raising an eyebrow.

"Who am I to turn down such a wonderfully entertaining idea as that, milady," replied Harry, wagging his eyebrows back at her.

Taking her husband by the hand, she led him out of the villa and towards the trail that winded its way down to the beach.

"Shouldn't we get our bathing suits?" asked Harry, hoping for a particular answer.

"I don't see why we would need them," Daphne answered without turning back to look at her husband, "and if we need a towel, I'm sure you can manage to conjure something for us."

Harry's face was plastered with a huge grin. Moving on from the hassles and stress within the magical world in Britain was something he was truly enjoying. Especially when that moving on was with the one person he cared to spend the rest of his life with and she was equally as happy to be moving on with him.

* * *

**Author's Notes: And so our story comes to a close. Will there be a sequel, or a continuation of this story? Maybe, as I do have some definite ideas of a new great adventure. Not hunting down magical creatures or mythical artefacts, but an adventure of sorts nonetheless. However, I do have some other stories I have been working on in addition to the "Dark Lord Potter?" which still remains unfinished.**

**Addressing the many reviews about Chapter 25: I have posted most of the anonymous reviews, which all seem to have the same message: _I must be an idiot to write Harry as such an idiot and give away his entire fortune._ Obviously many of the writers of those anonymous reviews have not taken the time to read the other reviews and see that I have already been flamed over that, or they think that they have something to gain by heaping more attacks against me for the way I had Harry handle the Black title. Perhaps Harry (and this writer) are not as caught up about the money side of things as those anonymous reviewers are (it is clear from the story that Harry is not going to miss the finances). Perhaps he is a little naïve. Persoanlly, I think Harry has always been a little naïve about many things in JKR's original stories. But Harry, in this story, has one objective. And that is to simply get away from the world that he was so excited to learn about when he was 11, but has caused him so much agony and grief for the next 7 years of his life as per JKR's stories. You of course are free to disagree with me on how I handled it all — and many of you have clearly voiced your opinion of me and my writing based on Chapter 25. I am sorry to disappoint you, but this is my story and I liked that Harry was generous and giving. No more from me on that subject, as it was addressed again in this chapter. **

**The next part of this story, when I get around to writing it, will start up at least 5 or 6 years down the road from the scene where we last saw the happy newlyweds.**

**Over the course of the past year as I have been writing and posting this story, I would like to thank those of you who have offered encouragement and support and helpful suggestions.**

**EmlynMara: while you may not ever actually read this story, you have been helpful to bounce some of the ideas off of that have made this story work.**

**N Flamel: you have always been offering a helpful comment and I have enjoyed the messages we have sent back and forth — you may not have agreed with how I handled several situations, but you have always addressed your concerns with respect and thoughtfulness.**

**To the many readers who have reviewed and commented:**

HP HG .fan forever; flight of the phoenix 86; Hpnut1; Man of Kent - Railwayman; Penny is wise; Nintschibintschi; Lyaser53; Akasanta; Mwinter1; Jason Stathome; TxA-GunFighter; Blueper; Dadscooking; Area808code; Sh8ad8ow; Ceo55; Sanbeegoldiewhitey; HP-DG-SB-HA-RR-KB-NT-TD-LL-AJ; MagicSilver7081; purple sky always; Leinad312 **and many more, I am sure...**

**Your continued support kept me going.**

**Thanks to the 700 readers who have listed this story a favorite and the 900 readers who are following this story.**

**To those who commented about plot holes, or grammar, or spelling, I tried to go back and review the story and make updates as the need arose. I am sure there are still plenty of places that this story could use improvement, but that will have to wait for a little while. **

**What's next?**

**Other than life outside of the world of writing (or reading) fan fiction…I do have a real job and a family to spend time with. Something has to pay the bills, and writing fan fiction by definition will never do that, unless JKR reads my stories and decides she likes them so much she wants to have them published as part of canon. I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen though.**

**I am working on rewriting the first 6 chapters of my Harry Potter story set in the future with eventual time travel to the time of the JKR stories. I will probably work on the planned Harry Potter story based on the theme of the old TV show "24" in the fall, although I am adding to my notes on that story as I go. I plan on adding notes to my ideas for a possible sequel to this story as they come to mind (the basic outline for a couple of chapters has already come to mind). Another story that plans to be a 4****th**** year story of a Harry-Susan or Harry-Tracey is also on the back burner.**

**Thanks again, **

**X**


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